Silently Lost
by EnigmaLight
Summary: It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "...Please, save me."
1. Confrontation

_I am soooooooooooo sorry. I keep rewriting my stuff._

_I do NOT own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. _

_It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "... Please, save me."_

* * *

><p>Silently Lost<p>

_Confrontation_

_._

_._

Sasuke hated people; that's all there was to it. People were selfish, annoying, backstabbing.

_**Liars**._

It was no surprise when the newly recruited employees started spreading rumors about the 58th floor, the empty floor. He wasn't sure who started the rumor or how it was even made. After all, there was nothing in there, and it was none of their business. There was no need to make such a fuss.

Gaining new employees were always the worst days to him. Constant whispering and false rumors echoed through the office.

_"Hey, did you hear? They said a monster lives on the 58th floor!"_

_"Isn't that right above the president's office?"_

_"How awful!"_

Sasuke growled. There was nothing on the top floor; no ghost, no monster, nothing. The only thing they might find up there would be dust layered upon more dust. His mother would occasionally walk up there to inspect the place. Personally, he did not think that job was fit for his mother. She was better than an inspection woman.

He stared out from the wall sized window behind him. Being so high up, everyone who walked by the building looked like ants. The sky was blue and there were no clouds in sight. It was what one would call " a lovely day."

But it did not feel like such a day to the raven haired man. He felt constantly on edge, like something was going to happen today. But nothing ever did. Nothing ever changed his normal daily routine.

He made sure of that.

.

.

Later that day, Naruto came to the office, saying that he wanted to "talk" about his life problems. He was to be married to Hinata, his fiance, in about a month- give or take a few days. Occasionally, Sasuke would let him rant about how much he hated planning his wedding, saying it was too much work.

The blond flashed his killer smile. "Damn, aren't you just lucky. You have a freakin' harem in your office. I envy you, you sick bastard."

"They're your's."

The blond laughed. "But I have Hinata!" He sighed dreamily and placed a hand on his cheek. "Lately, Hinata doesn't want me to help with the wedding planning and it's starting to make me worry. Damn, she such a perfectionist. Despite being quite shy, Hinata is quite fixated on getting the things that she wants- but hey, that's what makes her so damn irresistible."

"Then go home and help her." He meant it as _go home and help your fucking fiance_.

Two women walked by and giggled, looking into the office and smiling at the two men. The blond smiled and waved at them. After they had left, the blond screamed in frustration, trying to pull out his hair.

"You'll go bald." Sasuke bluntly said.

He looked straight into Sasuke's eyes and slammed his hands on his desk. Sasuke looked up impassively, returning the blond's gaze. "Sasuke, I'm having an internal conflict inside me right now. I love Hinata- she's amazing, but I realized that I love all women! They're all just so alluring and curvy- but Hinata's a goddess, but that's besides the point!" He sighed again and slumped his upper body over the desk. "I'm so conflicted!"

"Idiot, it's either live or die." The dying part was referring to Neji kicking Naruto's sorry ass.

He smiled nervously. "Yeah... I'd rather live..." The blond flushed and gazed at the wall. "Hinata smells nice... Like fruits... it's alluring."

"Pervert."

"Yeah..." The blond sighed again and dragged his index finger in circles on the desk. "I feel so lucky."

"Then don't die." The raven haired man replied.

Naruto huffed. "Well aren't you concise today. What's wrong, cat got your tongue? Aha! That was funny." He laughed and slapped his knee as if he had just made the best retort ever.

"It's not funny."

He smiled. "It is because you have a cat."

The stared at the blond, utterly confused by his strange statement. "I don't have a cat."

Confused, the blond tilted his head to the side a couple times, closing his eyes, and scratched his head. After going through his thoughts, he leaned over the desk and pointed to the ground on the right of Sasuke and questioned, "Then what's this cute bundle of fur doing next to you?"

Sasuke darted his gaze to the tile floor and found a bundle of white curled up right next to him. As if sensing his sudden interest, the feline returned Sasuke's gaze with its big, round emerald eyes. Its eyes stood out from its white and speckled chocolate brown fur. He noticed that a green ribbon was strung around its neck with a small silver bell latched on the ribbon.

There was a bell; how had he not noticed the cat coming in?

Still confused, he picked up the small animal, observing the lithe feline. Taking a closer look at the bell, there was no clapper or device inside to make a ringing noise. That's why he didn't hear it.

"Strange." He muttered.

The cat responded by meowing, displaying its array of tiny acute teeth, all pearly and white. Naruto snatched up the cat into his arms and cooed. "Where's your owner?"

This was no random cat. Seeing as it was marked with ownership, with the clean teeth and ribbon, Sasuke continued to ponder how the cat had gotten in in the first place. This was the 57th floor for crying out loud. It couldn't have just walk into the building without anyone noticing.

As if sensing his confusion, it looked straight at him; its deep emerald eyes pulling him in, trying to tell him something- but that was impossible. A cat couldn't tell him shit, not even as smart as it was.

Sensing his doubt, it jumped out of Naruto's arms and crossed over the tiles silently and toward the door. As if trying to coax him to follow it, it waved it's long tail back and forth, calling Sasuke forward.

Naruto caught on. "Let's go."

And so they did. It made its way through the crowd of employees, occasionally meowing at them. The women "aw"-ed at the feline and tried to touch the cat, but it moved around them and continued toward its destination.

Naruto laughed "What a cute cat."

Sasuke frowned, looking at the feline. "Yeah. Cute."

The cat's ears perked and it dashed behind Sasuke, hiding from something that was supposedly approaching.

Three men in white protective suits walked by, bug pray in their hands. Once a month, they would come and spray the building to keep it pest free. They seemed quite shady though; it was just a hunch, but in his gut he knew they weren't just pest cleaners.

"Hello Sasuke-san." They bowed and greeted him as they walked by. Sasuke bowed and reponded. "Hello."

When they were out of eye's view, the cat walked out from behind Sasuke and continued forward. He was confused as to why the cat would hide. It wasn't like they sprayed cats that got in the building.

Brushing that aside, he continued to follow the cat until it reached the elevator. It meowed for Sasuke to hit the button to open the door.

"What a smart cat." Naruto said, amazed by its intuition. "Man can I have-"

The cats ears perked again and on cue a woman came yelling, "NARUTO! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"

"Oh shit!" Naruto rushed out the elevator to escape, but the woman grabbed a fist of his collar. Knowing he could not struggle, he laughed nervously and looked up cautiously at the woman. "H-Hey Ino... W-What's up?"

She slapped him. "Don't 'what's up' me! Get back to your house and help your sweet wife-to-be plan the wedding! We're leaving!" She turned to Sasuke and smiled. " Have a nice day with your cute cat Sasuke."

"It's not my-" He started, but she turned around and dragged Naruto away. He looked down at the cat; it looked back at him. "You could have warned him you know..." The cat meowed and looked like it was smiling. Sasuke smirked. "Yeah, he deserved it."

The cat leaned up on the wall and pressed a floor button. He wasn't sure which button it was until the cat sat back down again.

The 58th button was lit yellow.

He looked down at the cat and asked, "Why do you want to go there? It's not like you can even get in."

It meowed again and flicked its tail. _What a weird cat._

The elevator moved upward, and they reached the 58th floor. The doors opened followed by a faint _ding_ of the elevator.

They were greeted with silence and darkness. The cat stepped out of the elevator and into the shadows. Sasuke followed the animal, but found it quite difficult to follow something he couldn't really see. As if knowing that, It would meow frequently, guiding him in the darkness. It continued to meow in one place until he reached a certain spot and pawed at Sasuke's leg.

He reached down and it handed him a key from its mouth. Realizing what to do next, he walked toward the door and fumbled to get the key into the lock. When the lock was unlocked, the cat handed him one more key and he fumbled yet again to find the hole.

When all was done, he turned the knob and opened the door.

_**Light**_ hit him.

Confused and blinded by the sudden light, he squinted and tried to adjust his eyes to the brightness. The next sight confused him even more.

Behind the door was a living room. He could glimpse a room which looked like the kitchen and another hallway.

The cat walked in and tried to usher him in as well.

Hesitantly, he took the first step in. The wooden planks creaked beneath him as he followed the cat. The place was eerily quite and the uneasy feeling he had earlier that day came back.

The cat guided him to a room that looked like a normal bedroom.

He walked in and saw the cat dash to the side. Confused yet again he followed it, but before he could he was slammed to the ground. He winced has his head his the hard wooden floor.

Eyes half closed, he opened his eyes to see what had just happened. And that was when he felt it.

A cold, sharp blade was touching his neck. The heavy weight above him was a fuzzy shape. He was not able to make out who was above him from the pain on his head.

He heard a voice ask, "Who are you."

When his vision came to, he could make out the color... pink? Blinking again, he raised a brow when he saw his attacker.

A slender pastel pink haired woman.

"Answer me now." She growled.

Today, was definitely not a **good** day.

.

.

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><p><em>Okay, I have rewritten this story about 37 times and I think I am finally satisfied.<em> _Yes it was a somewhat short chapter but it's just the starting chapter. I promise to write more when I have time.  
><em>

_A review on what you liked and what you didn't would be much appreciated. Thank you!_

_EnigmaLight— 10:18_


	2. Companions

_I GOT TIME TO WRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITE! :D_

_It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "...Please, save me."_

* * *

><p>Silently Lost<p>

_Companions_

.

.

Sakura loved people. They were interesting, entertaining, moving.

**_Alive._**

Even though she loved people, she never associated with them. It wasn't that she wouldn't, but couldn't. Days upon days passed with her staring out the window; from so far up on the building they looked like ants, meeting others and socializing— A luxury she didn't have, one she would _never_ have.

Sakura had no friends- well, no _human_ friends. The only companion she had was her cat, a lithe white feline with brown patches of fur and dazzling green eyes. She cleaned him regularly as she had nothing else to do: brushing his teeth clean, grooming his fur, giving him baths. She had done so so many times now that the cat no longer feared water; however, it only disliked the cold feeling, that would never go away.

She dressed him up as well, usually switching the ribbon around his neck and the bell on his neck ranging from blue ribbons to white bells.

One of her favorite pastimes is reading, reading about the world, technology, history, life— practically anything having to do with people. Folk tales were also interesting. Her favorite one was about a young boy who found a monster that lived in a cave out in the woods. She thought the boy had a big heart, taking care and playing with the monster. She never knew what happened in the end as the last few pages were torn out.

"You know," she said to the cat. "I wouldn't be surprised if they became best friends." she kicked her legs and laid down on the wood floor, her elbows propping her up so she could look directly into the cat's eyes. "Wouldn't it be great if a boy like in that folk tale came to find us? What would I do? I'd get so excited!" She hugged her friend and sighed dreamily. "What do you think?"

The cat meowed in response, rubbing its head on her chin. She laughed and rolled around with the cat on the ground, books splayed around them on the ground. "I think that'd be a miracle. Maybe if I wait long enough, he'll come!"

Perking up, she jumped off the ground and ran toward her room, looking for paper and a writing utensil. She left a mess in her wake of searching: drawers left open, paper left laying, paperclips left dangling. When she finally found her precious items, she hunched over the desk and wrote a message in black ink and then rummaged around some more for tape. Once found, she ripped off a piece and stuck in on the wall with other papers.

The cat meowed from below her and she smiled down upon him. "You know," she said picking him up and turning his attention to the wall, "they say that if you wish for something on a piece of paper and stick it up on the wall, then your wish will come true, but only if the note doesn't fall. And you can only use one piece of tape, not duct tape, but scotch tape."

The cat looked quizzically at her patchwork, as if reading her note.

She smiled at her work and then looked at the small calendar on the top left corner of her desk. Taking a pen, she marked off a day with a frown on her face. "They're coming today."

With that, she ran out of the room with the cat and went to pick up the books that she lad left in the other barren room. The cat helped too, picking up one book at a time with its mouth, careful not to damage the hard back cover book. Together, they cleaned up the mess. Afterwards, she ran into her kitchen and grabbed a small kitchen knife from the wooden knife box and ran back into her room.

She then opened her closet and crawled in with her cat, careful to not poke the cat with her blade. She slid the blade under the vent and loosened it. Once loose, she moved the bars and moved the cat in and crawled in after it, but not before re-positioning the bars of the vent back in place. she slid into a secret crevice right below the vent- if anyone looked inside the vent, no one would see her or her cat, the perfect hiding place.

And then she waited, and waited, and waited, and waited until she heard footsteps above her. The sound of muffled voices reached her ears.

"Damn, she's hiding again." A voice said. She giggled.

"Where can she hide is a tiny place like this?"

"That damn brat is sneaky, so watch your back." Another man said.

A long time passed until their muffled voices disappeared. But she would wait longer, wait until she and her cat were sure they were gone. When her cat shifted in her arms, she realized that they were gone and crawled her way back up and out of the vent. When she crawled out, she realized that he cat had run off somewhere.

"Heeeey!" she called. "Where'd you run off to?" She ran out of the room and searched every crevice in the house for her friend. She checked under the chairs, in the bathroom, under her bed, and the book room with no avail. He was nowhere. Not here, not in the area around her.

Panic and fear tugged at her chest. Her cat was the only living thing in this house other than herself. She heard no thumping, no meowing;** nothing**. And it scared her. Being alone was terrifying.

Tears started to well up in her eyes, her vision blurred by the tears. "Hey, it's not funny anymore. Come out."

The silence grew heavier, as if welcoming her to a new world.

She sat on her bed, her crying soft and faint. Her friend would never do this- sure, he would hide, but he would come out instantly after a few minutes. But he had be gone for far too long. Questions started to flood through her mind. What if those men had never left? What if they took him? Why would they take him and not her? Where had they taken him? Why?

_Why?_

**_Why?_ **

And then she heard it. The door clicked open, and she heard the soft thumps of footsteps. She grabbed her knife and stood against the wall closest to the door, ready to attack anyone who came in. She wiped away her tears and stood as still as possible.

They had taken her cat and she was not going to forgive them, not even if it cost her her life.

She saw her cat run in and she moved him to her left.

And then he came in and the next thing that happened was a blur.

.

.

"_Who. Are. You._" the mysterious girl growled. The blade was still in contact with his throat; he told his body to calm down and analyze the situation, act rationally.

He took a couple deeps breaths to calm down. The girl was patient enough to let him try to still his frantic thoughts. He inhaled, trying to say something, anything, but nothing came out of his mouth. She interrogated him further, never easing her fierce glare on Sasuke. "I don't have time to play around right now. Tell me if you're with them or not!"

He was utterly confused. Who was this girl? Why was she threatening him? Why was she here? How did she get it? Was she working together with the cat? And who was "them?"

Her body was shaking, quivering, above him. It was then that he realized that this girl had probably never hurt anyone before. Sure, she was threatening him with a sharp blade, but she was not strong enough to match against his own superior strength. Her eyes, fierce as they were, occasionally showed split emotions of uncertainty and fear and her face was glistening, as if damp. Then he looked back at her eyes and noticed her lashes were wet. He smirked. She was still innocent, but it wasn't like he wasn't either; therefore, he would play her game: tease her a bit, ruffle her feathers, taunt her in trying to hurt him.

"Why do I have to answer to you?" He smirked.

The girl, suddenly surprised, frowned. "I'm threatening to kill you. Does that not frighten you?"

"Not at all."

Her heart sunk. "Why?"

"Because there's nothing to live for." That was obviously a lie. No matter how pointless life was to him, he would not commit suicide. Suicide was a permanent solution to a temporary problem; he was no so cowardly as to kill himself or walk into his own death. He had his mother to look after. "What's the matter? Too scared to do the deed?"

She blinked for a second, tilting her head from side to side, as if trying to study his expressions. There was a moment of what seemed like a tense atmosphere to Sasuke, but then she busted out giggling, her whole face turning scarlet from oxygen deprivation. "You are such a liar! Wouldn't one be depressed or arrogant when saying such things? Yet, you are relieved?" She leaned her face close and looked deep into his eyes. "Are you trying to fool me?" Her tone furious.

"No," He grabbed her wrist when she was least expecting it and knocked the knife to the other side of the room; the blade spun away from them, with a light _clink_. Using his strength and weight against her, he flipped their positions with him hovering above her slender form. She gasped in surprise, making him smirk. "Why fool you when I am obviously the dominant one? Now, tell me." He leaned in close, whispering in her ear. "_Who are you?_"

"I-" She struggled to move out from below him, but it was useless. He was too strong for the girl. His grip tightened on her wrists, her hands pinned on either side of her head. She huffed in frustration and glared at him. "-am Sakura."

"Why are you here?"

She was hesitant to speak, but then whispered, "_I live here_."

"You're a liar." Sasuke hissed.

"I am not!" Her green eyes displayed confusion. "What reason would I have to lie to you? I obviously can't in _this_ situation." Her eyes gestured to their current position. "If you don't believe me, go and check that closet! All of my dresses are organized by color, my undergarments by material; have a look before you accuse me of lying!"

He scoffed. "Don't even try; I'm not a pervert. If I get off of you now, you'll escape."

"Then take my cat hostage since you already did so! I am telling the truth." She frowned, her brows furrowing at the middle of her forehead. "I bet on my cat's life that that closet has my things. Go! Take a look!"

Sasuke growled. "I am not stupid enough to be fooled by your _chicanery_."

"Then you're stupid. I am only telling you the truth." She retorted. "Why are you so stubborn?" She sighed. "I swear, I have never meet another human who is so ill mannered..."

Sasuke frowned. "_You_ attacked _me_ first. What right do you have to say that?"

"I thought you were one of them!" She yelled, her eyes ablaze. "I thought you _took_ my cat!"

His confusion returned. "_Them? Who is them_? And why would I _take _your cat?"

"The men in the white suits, that pretend to kill bugs." She turned her head. "If you don't know, then I have no reason to hurt you. Can't we be friends then?"

He blinked. This girl... was asking him... to be friends... with _her_? "What?"

"You aren't a threat; therefore, let's be friends." She smiled, the corners of her lips almost reaching her ears. "I have never met another human before that was the same age as me. You are 26 I presume?" She was no longer struggling; she was now limp in his grasp.

Sasuke frowned. "We can't be friends. I'm going to rape you."

She blinked, then laughed. "B-Bad... so bad at lying! Why would you rape me?"

"Because I can."

"Liar."

His frowned deepened. Was he really bad at lying?Any normal person would think he was being serious. Was his façade revealing? "Men rape for satisfaction you know."

"No, I don't know." She smiled, still unable to suppress her giggles. "Why don't you show me then? Please," she gestured to her body, "demonstrate to me what _men_ do."

He sighed, a long lengthy sigh, then got up and off of the girl. She sat up and motioned the cat whom was sitting to come forward. The cat sat in her lap, all curled up, and meowed in what looked like sleepiness. She stroked its head, scratching occasionally at its ears, which the feline seemed to love. Looking up, she stared at Sasuke. "So, what is your name?"

"None of your business." He bluntly retorted; standing up, he started for the door. "I don't want to get involved with whatever _this_," he motioned to themselves. "is. Make sure your cat doesn't get out again."

He walked out the door way. He heard her slight protest, but decided to leave anyway.

She grabbed him, her slender fingers firm around his. Anxiety mixed with fear swirled in her emerald orbs, leaving him motionless for a second. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out; only the empty silence that surrounded them engulfed them. She bit her lip, as if concentrating on what to say next before he would leave. "I-I... you..."

The cat meowed. Startled by this, the girl spun around and the anxiety from before grew. She dragged him back into the room, trying to move him near the closet.

He protested. "Wha-"

"Hurry!" She pushed him closer, her hands no longer firm but shaky instead. "They're coming. If they see you, you'll have to leave!"

"Why-"

"Go! Quick!" She shoved him in harshly and rushed in as well. The closet was dark, but he could hear her move something from inside their hiding place. Adjusting his eyes, he saw a small hole appear behind the place where the ventilation bars used to be. She ushered him in.

It was a tight fit; Sasuke was a large, lean male. It took some time, but he finally fell through another gap and landed on ground. It was tight in here as well. he could hear the girl crawling through the vent, closing the opening before she came any closer to him. She dropped into the small hole with him, making the space even smaller.

"You-" He started.

"Shh!" She hushed him.

He could hear footsteps, heavy footsteps, so heavy that the wood floor above them might collapse. Then voices, deep muffled voices, voices that sounded like they were saying, "She... here..."

The pain of couching grew larger, the existence of space tempting. He leaned closer to her, Propping an arm above the girl, and in doing so he was able to lessen the strain on himself. She flinched, her eyes searching for an explanation in his eyes. "Bear with it." he murmured into her ear as to not reveal their hiding spot.

She nodded but in doing so, hit his chin. He glared at the girl who smiled sheepishly, apologetically. The cat shifted its position on his head and he inwardly sighed from this ridiculous situation. All he had wanted to do was get rid of this cat, and in doing so he met a strange girl who threatened to kill him, but somehow now wanted to be friends. _Ridiculous_.

She could feel her breathing below him, her body pushed up upon his in the tight space. Her breathing was calm, as if she had no care in the world that he was practically stuck on her. Most women by now would have fainted or be squirming from being so close to him, yet here she was, calm and quiet, not even caring much about their current position.

Wait- when had he gotten _so cocky_? It's not like he cared; it was just something he wasn't used to. Yeah, that's it, something he wasn't used to.

She shifted from discomfort and he could very clearly _feel_ her. It wasn't unpleasant- in fact, it was the opposite. Her body was soft, delicate, and her scent.

**_Alluring._**

Most women reeked with the awful smell of pungent fruit smelling perfume, but she- no, she had a faint scent of flowers on her. A scent that he quite liked, and Sasuke was not a man to like the scent of flowers. He inhaled slowly and tried to analyze the scent.

And then he remembered. She smelled like orchids, exotic, sweet orchids. Just like the ones in his mother's garden; they were very delicate smelling. Like the scent would disappear after just taking a sniff of it.

As if noticing what he was doing, she looked up at him carefully as to not hit his chin again and sniffed him too. He raised an eyebrow at her actions which she smiled back to in reply. The cat did the same and Sasuke sighed.

Sasuke turned his gaze to his wrist and watch the hand of the clock tick by.

_Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick._ He continued to gaze at his watch until what seemed like an hour passed by. They thumping of footsteps ceased and he heard the faint click of the door close. The cat jumped off his head and walked toward the exit of their cramp space.

She sighed, her breath caught in his. "They're gone."

"Now," He sighed, "how do we get out."

She wiggled beneath him, as if trying to think. Then she perked up and in doing so hit his chin again. He glared at the apologetic girl. "I'll jump up first since I'm smaller than you and pull you out."

"If you can..." Sasuke grunted.

She laughed and wiggled around him and to the side of the exit. She leaned up and almost hit him- she might have even done it if it weren't for his quick reflexes. She heaved herself up with a short gasp and struggled to get out without accidentally kicking the man below.

He blinked at the sight of white silk, but quickly turned away after realizing what it was.

She leaned down once on the cool metal of the vent and put out her hand, "Come on."

"No need." He said. Now that there was space, he could easily crawl out of the small hiding space. She crawled backwards to give him space to lean up, but not far enough and in result their faces were inches apart. She blinked, then turned around in the vent and crawled to the exit.

She let him out before taking her knife and sliding the bars back over the vent. While she was in her closet fixing the vent, Sasuke had time to look around the room. It was quite filled. Random papers covered the walls, from pictures of Blood Falls to pages of music from Bach and quotes from Aristotle. In the middle of the wall of her archive was a tiny white piece of what looked like origami paper with a tiny strip of tape keeping it up. He stared at the message on it written in neat cursive.

_Find a white rabbit of my own_.

He was confused as to what that meant. But it didn't concern him. He didn't want to get anymore involved with this girl than he already was.

So he turned to walk out only to be held by a hand. Her hand. "Where are you going?"

"Home." He replied.

"But you can't leave." She replied innocently. "The keys are outside. Without them-"

"I can't get out." He finished realizing that he should have taken the keys in with him. He sat and sighed a lengthy sigh.

They sat in silence excluding the thumping of the cat scratching itself. Then, the girl stood up and walked over to the desk. She picked up what seemed like a calendar and tapped her cheek with her hand. "My caretaker is coming today. If she comes early enough, than you can sneak out while I distract her."

He raised a brow. "Am I not supposed to know that you live here?"

"No, you're not." She smiled. "No one is." Silence greeted them again and she shuffled her feet, the lace of her dress swaying as she did so. "Hey."

"What." He replied.

She fiddled with her fingers and pointed to a piece of what looked like sheet music on her archive wall. "Can you play the piano?"

He flinched. "No. I've never played before."

She laughed and ran toward him, pulling at his arms in attempt to pull him up. "Liar, liar- you can play!" She smiled, her laugh light and not unpleasant. "Hey, hey- teach me will you? The books I have don't teach me anything. Teach me!"

"No." he replied bluntly. He was still confused as to how she maneuvered around all of his lies. "I don't play anymore."

She blinked and tilted her head. "Why? Do you have sad memories of playing the piano?"

He sighed and closed his eyes in frustration. "How can I teach you if there's no pi-"

"There is!" She exclaimed. She dragged him up and down the hall, the cat followed. She brought him to another room that was filled with shelves of books and right in the center of the library was a piano. The sleek black piano was cleaned, and it looked like it was well taken care of. It pulled at him, as if tempting him to press its keys. The nagging force was strong.

A slight pain went through his chest, remembering his past, remembering her- her betrayal.

A warm hand patted his back tenderly and he looked up to see Sakura looking up at him, her eyes full of regret. "Sorry, as I thought, the piano brings back bad memories for you, huh?"

He waved her hand away. "Shut up and listen, because I won't play it again." He said and made his way to the instrument. He sat down on the side and she plopped down next to him. He moved a hand to the keys and waited for her to copy him. She did not so he nudged her arm.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and copied his hand position. He adjusted her hand to the correct key and he started playing quietly.

She tried to copy, but only made a mess of her fingers. They played for a while, all the time he scolded her for her bad hand position. She would laugh and he would sigh at her actions. After playing for an hour or more, she had gotten the hang of it and was adjusting her hands to his. They played it together for the last time with no mistakes, the light pleasant sound of the keys echoing in the room.

Suddenly, they heard the clear sound of clapping and turned around to see a woman. A woman far to familiar to Sasuke. "Wonderful, you two played wonderfully! Who knew Sakura would be the one to get him to play the piano again."

He blinked to take in the presence of the other woman. Dark hair, dark eyes, a dainty fancy dress, and a warm smile. "Mother?" He blinked again and tried to make sure he wasn't seeing an illusion. "Why are you here?"

Sakura replied. "She's my caretaker." Sakura skipped over to the other woman and beamed a smile so big it reached from ear to ear. "Mikoto-san! You know this man?"

She smiled. and patted the girl's head. "Yes, I do know him." She then turned her attention to her son. "But how ever did you get in?"

"Long story." He said and put the cover of the piano keys back over the keys. "Why are you taking care of her?"

Mikoto sighed and patted the girl's shoulder. "How about I tell you while we make dinner? I don't get to eat with Sakura much so let us take out time." She smiled and the two women talked to the kitchen. Sasuke followed and watched as Sakura talked to Mikoto about their confrontation. "No Sakura, you don't use kitchen knives to hurt people." She scolded the young woman, then patted Sakura's head in amusement.

They stood in the kitchen, dicing up meat and vegetables to make dinner. Sakura said she wanted to try eating curry, so she asked his mother to teach her. His mother laughed and the two chatted while making the food. Sasuke sat on a stool behind the counter and watched his mother and the other girl get along well. "You two get along well."

His mother turned around and faced her son, a smile on her serene face. "I have been taking care of her for a long time."

"So," Sasuke started. "Why didn't you tell me that there was a person living here?"

A moment of silence passed over them. His mother bit her lip and Sakura smiled sadly at the vegetables cut up nicely on the cutting board.

"Because..." His mother started, but Sakura cut her off.

"I'm a test subject."

Mikoto lightly slapped the other girl. "_Do not_ say something like _that_. You are **_not a test_**_** subject**._"

Sasuke couldn't see her face, but he thought she was smiling, and not in her usual happy way. But she turned around and smiled at Sasuke, one that looked to be genuine. "Sorry! I was just kidding!"

His mother looked back at him and smiled. "Your father thinks it's a bad idea to let others know that Sakura is living here."

Sasuke frowned. "Why? Does she even go outside?_ Why is she locked up in here!" _He was surprised himself when he raised his voice. But it didn't matter, this girl would never experience life, life with other people. She was doomed to be locked up in this small condo forever- and the thought pissed him off. "What right does father have in locking up a girl in here?"

Sakura walked over to him and placed the plate of curry in front of him. She placed down a spoon and a glass of water as well. Then she grabbed his hands in her's, her tiny fragile hands around his, and smiled. "You father has every right to keep me here." Her words made him flinch. "When I was alone and suffering, your father picked me up and brought me here. I'm alive today because of him. I understand that you are confused but please don't blame your father for my situation. It's like a gift to me."

He saw her jaw clench and he knew. He knew that she was lying. She was suffering, but why was he so worked up? It wasn't like this was any of his business, she didn't concern him.

And that was when it hit him. Here she was, suffering and sad, yet he was mad that his father was making decisions for this girl, not that he was causing her grief- No, he didn't care about that, the fact that his father was running someone else's life for them without letting them make decisions pissed him off. So much that he didn't care that she was suffering.

He was a horrible person, he and his father.

He clenched his fist. "Sorry." For everything. He excluded the last part, not wanting to show his sentimental side.

But the girl only grinned and stretched her arms. "Now," She started, "enjoy this meal made by us!"

While eating together with Sakura and his mother, Sasuke realized that Sakura was very well educated. She talked about classical literature, ones that no one even read anymore, the ones with such an outdated language that you couldn't even understand half of what was going on. His mother had brought more books for her to read, ones about history in the world, folk tales, science, human anatomy, and just plain adult fiction.

"So," Sakura said while eating her curry, her fingers twiddling with her spoon. "Is Sasuke only a one time visit?"

He blinked and looked at the girl. "Of cou-"

"No," Mikoto smiled. "He will come to see you from now since I am not able to come as often."

He started to protest. "What about wor-"

"Bring your documents here. Sakura can help you with your work, she is very intelligent dear. You could use a good worker like her."

Sakura beamed, a smile on her face. "WOW EVERYDAY? YES!" The cat meowed after finishing its food.

"You're not going to argue," His mother smiled. "Are you dear?"

He could never argue with his mother.

"Ha..."

.

.

The following morning, Sasuke hit himself to see if last night was just a dream, but it wasn't; Sasuke's mother had given him his own set of keys into that _place._ All of his subordinates were aware of his working elsewhere, but none knew where. They were only to page him when he was needed, and he was only needed for meetings. As far as he was concerned, it felt like his everyday routine- except for him going up to the 58th floor.

The first thing he noticed when he walked into the condo was Sakura laying on the floor on her back with her hair splayed all around her. Today she was wearing a light white sundress, as to cope with the heat of the summer. The windows were open and fresh cool air greeted him as he walked in. She looked up from her business of doing nothing and beamed a bright smile. "You're here!"

"Don't talk while I work." He said and sat down on the couch and placed his paperwork on the coffee table. She crawled over and sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. "File those in order of date of documentation. When you're done, categorize these."

She didn't argue and got straight to work. She didn't talk while they worked, as she was told not to talk. It was quiet except for the sound of paper being moved. Sasuke glanced over papers to see if the secretary had correctly filled out the forms or not. He checked to see if business was steady of declining. It wasn't- as he expected, and continued to read the forms. Not even twenty minutes had passed when from the corner of his eye did he see Sakura lay back down on her back, her cat laying on her stomach.

"Hey, finish your-" He started but noticed that all the work he had assigned her was already done. "You're done?"

She nodded. "Un."

"That was supposed to take you an hour." He frowned. He went through the pile and saw that she had indeed categorized and organized everything _correctly_.

Sakura looked up at him and grinned. "Better than your secretary, huh?"

He only smirked and grunted. "When we're done, I'll teach you some more piano."

He heard a thump and looked up from his papers to see her flipped over on her stomach, the cat now on her head. "Oh boy!"

This went on for about a week. Everyday, he would come to see her and she would help him with work. They'd finish in about an hour or two and have the rest of the day to play the piano, read, or just sleep. Sasuke would teach her piano for an hour then take a rest on the couch. He had leisurely time to lay down and relax— a luxury he had never had before.

Sakura was actually very obedient, which he thought was amusing. She listened to everything he said with interest and obeyed him; however, when she was against him, she used every ounce in her to say what she thought.

She was also very quiet. Despite being quite rowdy yesterday, once she had known him for a while, she toned down and wasn't as hyper. If anything, she was very calm and very easy to please.

She respected that he didn't like a lot of noise and knew when to just give him quiet company. That was something he really appreciated.

On a Tuesday the next week, Sasuke was about to go through his routine of going to work at the condo when a friend stopped him.

"Hey, where have you been lately? I heard you don't work in your office anymore." Naruto smiled and greeted him. He looked at the box of papers in Sasuke arms and raised a brow, questioning it. "What's the box for?"

"Good," Sasuke smirked and motioned to another box. "Help me carry that one up."

"Where to?"

"58th floor."

Naruto was silent for a second and grabbed his friend's arm. "You're joking right? Don't tell me that's-"

"My office is now there." He sighed and walked to the elevator. "Orders from Mikoto Uchiha-sama."

"You're mom?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke turned around and frowned at the blond. "Get the box, dumbass."

Naruto started at the box. "Oh!" and hurried toward his friend.

.

.

They reached the door and Sasuke dropped the box to open the door. Naruto looked around the dark place. "Wow, she demoted you..."

"Shut up." He said and opened the door with a click. Sasuke picked up the box again and walked in. Naruto followed in suit.

"Where is this exa-" Naruto started to say but stopped when his gaze drifted to Sakura laying on the floor, her hair messily splayed around her.

Sasuke sighed upon noticing her. "You're wearing red today? And stop laying down on the ground."

The girl yawned and sat up lazily, her long pastel hair fell around her face. Her eyes drifted to Naruto and she tilted her head quizzically. "Are you allowed to tell another person that I'm here?"

"Allowed to tell-" Naruto choked out and grabbed his friend by the arm again. "When, since when have you been skipping work to be with a girl? _When_? How long have you liked her? Isn't this against the law?!"

"It's not like that dumbass." Sasuke said.

"Ah!" Sakura pointed to him and stared at him furiously. "Cussing is rude!"

Sasuke only looked at her with raised eyebrows. "And pointing is rude as well."

"What exactly is going on." Naruto frowned at the two. Sasuke told her to clean up her mess of books as he told his friend what was going on. In doing so, the cat walked out of the other room and toward Sakura. Naruto froze upon seeing it. "You mean-"

"That's her cat."

"So she lives here?"

"Hn."

Naruto could only sigh and stare at Sakura and her cat playing with each other. He got up and leaned down to look at the girl, a hand extended and a smile on his tanned face. "Hi Sakura-chan, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a close friend of Sasuke."

She looked up at him, confused as to what he was gesturing. "A close friend?"

"Yeah, let's get along, okay?" Naruto smiled.

Her eyes widened and a smile split her face. "Companions?"

Naruto laughed at the strange girl. "Yeah, Companions."

.

.

That same day, Naruto kept Sakura company while they worked, Naruto helping out as well. The two talked, but Sakura's hesitant behavior to talk while working pulled at Naruto's interests. He looked over to his raven haired friend. "Did you tell her not to talk while you work?"

"Yeah." Was Sasuke's blunt reply. "Work first, talk later."

Naruto chuckled. "Makes sense."

For an hour and a half, they worked until they were finished. The allotted time for working shortened with Naruto helping out. After they were done, Sasuke went through his routine of teaching Sakura piano. That stunned his friend, but he said nothing. They played a melodious tune that Naruto was quite well acquainted with as Sasuke would always play this song in the past.

After they played until Sakura was too tired to lift a finger, they sat down to rest. Sasuke laid on the couch while Naruto and Sakura made something in the kitchen- well, mostly Sakura. Naruto just sat at the counter watching her make what looked like a cake.

"Ne, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, trying to get a conversation going. "When is your birthday?"

She perked up in confusion. "Birth-day?" She said it as two separate words which made Naruto laugh. "What is that?"

"Uhmm," Naruto scratched his chin in confusion. "It's kind of like a day you celebrate every year to commemorate the day of you being born. It's special to you and you alone."

Sakura tapped her cheek and licked the cream from her fingers. "I don't know when I was born. Mikoto-san tells me I'm 23 though, so I've had a birthday 23 times?"

Naruto smiled upon having an idea. "Why don't we make today your birthday? To commemorate the three of us meeting?"

"No!" She yelled. From across the room she could see Sasuke shift in discomfort from her loud protest. "I want to make it July 18th."

Naruto blinked. "Why that date?"

"Because," She started and continued covering the cake in cream. "it's the day I met Sasuke."

Naruto laughed. "Do you like Sasuke?"

She nodded and continued to cover the cake. Naruto and Sakura continued to idly chat while Sasuke read his book on the couch, the cat laying flat on his stomach. When she had added the final touches to the cake she exclaimed, "Cake is done!"

"I don't want any." Sasuke said. He had no appetite for sweet foods.

Even so, Sakura cut three pieces and gave one to him, a face of disappointment greeted her when she gave it to him. "Eat it, it's not a regular cake."

He cut a small piece as to not regret it later. Arguing would leave him with a headache. And so, he ate it. and was surprised when the taste of green tea reached him. The cream tasted sweet, but the sweetness was cut down considerably. The fluffy texture of the cake was also appetizing. Overall, he had to say her cake was good. "Green tea."

"Un!" She smiled and sat to eat the cake as well. "Mikoto-san said you don't like sweet food, so I asked her what you liked."

He pat her head and continued to eat the cake.

Naruto watched the two get along. It was something like a miracle; never in his life had he seen Sasuke pat a girl on the head before. He was never to kind around other women- at least, not after what had happened. Seeing them together made Naruto smile. Sasuke's mother had done well to make him change. Maybe even the past would no longer hurt him.

.

.

* * *

><p><em>Was that too long of a chapter? Well, not much happened so... yeah. <em>

_Please tell me what you think, a review really helps!_

_EnigmaLight— 6:56_


	3. Obscure

_I'm not really going to be able to write much since finals are coming up. Gotta study, especially for Spanish! :O_

_This chapter might be confusing as I switch perspectives quite a lot. I just want to explain somethings between Sasuke and Sakura, letting you see everyone's perspectives. _

_It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "...Please, save me."_

* * *

><p>Silently Lost<p>

_Obscure_

_._

_._

He was her entertainment. She would ask him things about the world outside her small cage, outside of this jail, and he would tell her. He would tell her about the things outside, the things he hated; however, everything he hated, she seemed to love.

When they had downtime, Sasuke would sleep and Sakura would quietly sit next to him, her eyes fixed on the pages of books or his sleeping form.

She liked his sleeping face. He looked peaceful, happy, serene. The opposite of his impassive expression that often stared blankly at her. She especially liked his eyes; they were the only part of him that allowed her to see his true feelings, it allowed her to see what he enjoyed or hated.

And his hair. She really liked his hair, his spiky yet soft hair. Of course, he had never actually let her touch it, but when he slept she would sit quietly and brush a few of his locks away from his face. And of course, he would wake up, angry at her too-familiar actions. but she didn't care, he was here, living, breathing.

_**Alive. **_

Their days weren't too exciting. Naruto would come from time to time, telling her that next time he would bring his fiance. But that wasn't possible. There were already too many people involved with her. Sure— she liked interacting with them, but she would ask for no more. Sasuke and Naruto were already enough for her. She would ask for no more.

Ever since Sasuke had come, the fakers (the men in the white suits) didn't come. They hadn't come for several weeks now, and it concerned her. What was that Doctor-sama planning? What was Fugaku planning? What would become of her?

And then the day came, the day that she became too tired to stand up, too tired to laugh, too tired to act. But nevertheless, she got out of bed and changed out of her nightgown and into a dress which she thoughtlessly grabbed from her closet. Her cat rubbed its flank on her shin, and she looked down at it emotionlessly, "Don't try and persuade me. I won't take that medicine even if Doctor-sama comes," and she walked into the common room, sitting down on the floor to look as normal as possible for Sasuke who was soon to come.

The cat meowed and stared at her, almost as if it were pleading. "No, I won't." Sakura moaned out. "I won't."

And that was the end of their discussion.

.

.

Sasuke was welcomed by silence, which he thought was weird. Sakura would always lay down on the ground near the door and greet him with a smile, but she wasn't anywhere near the entrance. He walked around and found her laying on the kitchen tiles, her cat rubbing the girl's head. "Hey," he started.

No answer.

"Sakura." He tried again.

Her eyes opened slowly, her green orbs moved slowly, almost painfully, to look at him. "Ah..." she mumbled, then closed her eyes again.

And that was then he realized something was definitely wrong. He leaned down and put a hand on her forehead; the cat sneaked around his arm and rubbed it. "Not feeling well?"

He could hear her raspy breathing, slow and stagnant. She just continued to lay there, not a muscle in her thin body moved. He called her name again. "Sakura."

No answer.

He hated to admit it, but he was starting to panic. What if she was sick? How would he treat her? What even happened? How would he even treat a sick person? So he did the most reasonable thing he could do in his state of panic, phone someone who was experienced with taking care of people.

He called Hinata, the only person who was able to successfully take care of Naruto, the idiot, correctly.

_"Hello?" _Her calm and quiet voice reached his ear from the other side of the device. He wanted to ask, _Hello, this is Sasuke, but you probably already know that by the caller id. Long story short, how do I treat a sick person? _

But he chopped off a whole twenty words and only managed out the last two words which were, "Sick person."

_"E-eh?"_

"Treatment." He spilled out again. "Treatment for a sick person."

_"Ah, are you taking care of a family member?"_

"No."

_"Ah," _She paused for a moment, then laughed. _"Is it that girl that Naruto-kun told me about? Is she sick?"_

"Hn."

_"Ja..., why don't you make her her favorite food? That makes Naruto-kun feel better when he gets sick."_

A moment of_ Shiiiiiiit_ flew by him. For the love of everything that was holy, he didn't even know what kinds of foods she liked. How was he supposed to prepare food for her? Wait- how would she even eat in the state that she was in?

"Unconscious." He responded lately.

He heard her pensive mumbles, then said, _"Too tired to eat? Hmm, then it'd be best to let her rest. Maybe she'll wake up later and you can ask her what kind of food she likes."_ The woman laughed after her words.

He said his goodbyes, then stared pensively at the young woman still on the cold tile floor. He picked her up and carried her out the kitchen. The girl groaned, mumbling slightly before becoming silent again. He walked down the hall with the girl in hand and the cat following behind. He set her down on the soft sheets of her bed and tucked her underneath. He placed a hand on her forehead, and was surprised when he felt warm dampness from her skin.

She was burning.

He rushed into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. Then he dampened it in cold water and wrung out the cloth. Rushing back into her room, he folded the damp cloth and placed it delicately on her forehead. This was probably the only thing he would do for her, and it made him feel useless.

He called his mother and informed her of Sakura's sickness, and she told him to just watch over her.

And that's what he did, all he could do was wait until she woke up.

And she did.

.

.

When Sakura opened her eyes, her vision was hazy, her eyes unfocused. She blinked a couple of times before her vision actually cleared. She looked around the room and saw Sasuke sitting on the floor next to her, the back of his head was all she could see. She could make out the light sounds of paper rustling and inferred that he was reading. She turned her head, only to feel a cloth slide down her forehead, one that she didn't know was there before until now.

She then inferred that Sasuke had put it there. The thought of him taking care of her made her heart swell, a feeling of incredible happiness swept over her. She could feel the corners of her lips twitch up into a smile.

She hazily saw him turn around and reach for the cloth covering her eyes. It didn't seem like he was aware of her consciousness. He moved the cloth back on her forehead and a look of surprise flashed through his dark orbs. He sighed and sat down again. "Feeling better?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but only a raspy breath managed to escape her lips. She tried again and stuttered out, "When did you get here?"

"Just a little while ago." He shrugged.

She looked at the clock on her desk and noticed that it was already five o'clock. She smiled at his lie. "Ah, sorry for the inconvenience."

"Take better care of yourself." He said and turned back to his reading, her cat jumped into his lap and Sasuke continued his reading. "Sleep."

She started at the hair at the nape of his neck, her eyes half closed. "Sasuke,"

"Hn."

"Have you ever heard of the story _The Clay Boy_?" She asked, an arm covering her eyes.

He felt a little better after hearing her start her usual literature rambles; he closed his book and listened tentatively. The cat curled up in his lap, the gentle rise of its body let him know it was taking a nap in the warm sun's rays. "No." He answered.

Sakura continued her literature rambling. "It's a popular folk tale in many countries in Southeastern Europe as well as in Russia. There are many variations of this as well. The story itself starts off with an elderly couple who live alone together on a mountain. They make a boy out of clay due to the loneliness of having no children. They put the clay boy into the hearth and suddenly, as if blessed by a miracle, the clay boy comes to life." He looks over his shoulder and sees her smile. "The couple feels blessed, having a miracle such as this come to them made them so happy, as they were never able to have children. They treated the boy as their own child, feeding him, playing with him, learning with him. It was as if he was actually born their son."

Her smile straightens and a frown sets on her face. "But, of course, if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is." He is surprised to hear her sniffling. "The boy suddenly becomes strange. He grows far to quickly and eats all of the elderly couple's food, destroys their house, and eventually eats his parents; the people who created him."

Sasuke turns around and sees tears streaming down the side of her face, dropping onto the pillow beneath her head. Her arm still covered her eyes. "He goes on a rampage in the town below the mountain and kills many people, but all is well because a quick-thinking goat comes by and destroys the now stone golem boy. And the story ends."

Sasuke stared at the girl, laying in her bed with tears flowing down her face like a waterfall. He lifted her arm up and saw her scrunched eyebrows. "I told you to rest, not cry."

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with what he interpreted as fear. "If everyone sees reality differently from each other, is there really any differentiation between a fantasy and reality?"

Sakura was acting weird. She never got this emotional about a piece of literature before, not even when she told him about _Never Let me Go_ by Kazuo Ishiguro. She just laid there, tears continuously falling from her eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked.

A smile splits onto her face, her tears still falling. "It's nothing. Thank you for everything today."

"I haven't done anything." He muttered and her crying increased. "Stop crying. It's annoying."

But she didn't stop, and that really started to bother him. She pulled the covers over her head and hid her face away from him. "Sorry, I won't do it again. Forgive me."

And they spent the rest of the day like this; Sakura just tried to muffle her cries with the sheets, and Sasuke sat on the side of her bed, quietly watching the quivering form underneath the bed sheets. He didn't know how to comfort her, and he didn't try to. She probably just wanted to release the pent up frustration by crying. There was nothing wrong with crying, it just disturbed him a little. She was always cheerful, so seeing her cry so heavily was a huge surprise, hell— he didn't even know why she was crying. That was even more confusing.

He felt if he tried to comfort her, she would only cry harder, something he did not want to happen.

So they stayed there, perfectly so.

And the day ended with Sasuke leaving her and Sakura saying a muffled "goodbye."

.

.

The next day, Sasuke got a call from his mother, telling him not to visit Sakura for a few days. She was getting checked up by a doctor as she had been skipping her check-ups that were routinely done by the men who wore white suits pretending to kill pests. Sasuke hadn't even thought those men to be doctors. Maybe Sakura was there as a patient, but if so, then why didn't they just get her admitted to a hospital?

For three days, Sasuke was not to go to work, so he sat around reading and well— doing nothing.

He hated to admit it, but for three days he was _extremely _bored. he had never really noticed before, but Sakura made his boring routinely days more interesting. Everyday with her was somewhat rudimentary, but she would always find a way to make it more interesting whether it be by telling him interesting stories or making delicious food.

Did he _miss her?_

.

.

Sakura got a call the day after she had gotten sick, and she stumbled out of bed to go into the hallway and open the closet, which she left the phone in. She had no real use of using it, so she left it in a place out of sight from her curiosity. Many times before Sasuke had come, she had wanted to just press random numbers and hear the other side talk to her. But that wasn't allowed, it was against the rules. So she left it there. The only times she ever got calls were when Doctor-sama called.

And she called today.

She let the phone ring several times before hesitantly putting the device to her ear.

"Hell-" She started.

_"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, WASTING MY PRECIOUS TIME YOU DAMN BRAT!" _A woman on the other line yelled. Sakura winced and pulled the phone away from her ear before answering.

"Ahaha," she laughed, "Sorry Doctor-sama-"

_"That's Tsunade-sama to you!" _The woman replied harshly, cutting her off once again.

Sakura laughed and twirled the phone cord with her finger. "I've been a good girl! I'm not taking medicine from strangers-"

_"Don't get all smart-alec with me young lady! SHIZUNE-" _She called to another woman in the background, _" GET READY TO GO!"_

"Wait-" Sakura started to panic. "Are you coming here?"

_"Since you won't obey orders, yes."_

"Ah, sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I will take the medicine the next time they come! I promise!" She pleaded.

The woman on the other line laughed and said, _"They quit. This was brought on by your bad behavior young lady. I'm only doing what you made me do."_

"I-" Sakura started but then realized that she was right, she couldn't come up with an excuse because everything she said was true. She was acting like a brat. "Yes..."

_"Good, now stay in bed until we come. If you don't obey, you'd better be prepared for when we get there then, 'cuz it's not gonna be pretty." _She hissed across the phone and Sakura inwardly whimpered.

She hung up and ran back into her room and under the bed sheets. Doctor-sama was already angry. Sakura didn't want to get into anymore trouble then she was already in. She laid quietly in bed with her cat and waited for them to come.

Not even twenty minutes passed before they came. She heard the click of the door and then a slam, meaning Doctor-sama was _reeeeeally angry. _

She saw her stomp into the room, and Sakura hid half of her face behind the bed sheets. She looked up cautiously and greeted the two women. "Hello Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san..."

"You brat." The blonde woman grumbled, then opened her black bag and took out her stethoscope. "Get up and take off your nightgown."

Sakura did as she was told, and quickly at that. The blonde woman put the end of the stethoscope on Sakura's chest and told her to breathe slowly. They went through the whole check-up and Tsunade was the first to talk. "You must feel like shit."

Sakura laughed and put on the silk gown again as the check-up was done. "Cussing is bad, Tsunade-sama."

"Shut up." She replied and put her equipment back into the black bag. "Does that boy know?"

Sakura deduced that she was talking about Sasuke. "Sasuke's not a boy." Sakura laughed and sat down on the bed again, her cat curling up in her lap. She slyly smirked, a grin curling at her lips. "I don't even know what you're talking about."

"You smart ass," Tsunade groaned and rubbed her temples. She took out a small prescription bottle from her coat pocket and handed it to the younger girl. "Here, take this twice a day. Once in the morning and the second in the night right after eating. You can't refuse, or I'll drag you back to the institute."

Sakura glared at the other woman. "I'm fine without it. I don't need drugs to keep me healthy. I'm fi-" Sakura coughed. She didn't cough for a short amount of time either. She was surprised by how long it lasted, and was even more surprised when the taste of iron hit her tongue. She looked at her palms and saw the thick scarlet liquid drip from her fingers. Fear sparked through her eyes.

Tsunade sighed and took out a cloth to wipe the young girl's mess. "That's why I told you to take the medicine. Are you trying to kill yourself?" She said while wiping the young girls mouth.

Sakura frowned and looked away, adverting her eyes away from the two women. "Why does it even matter. Why should I live when my life is a living hell."

"Because," the blonde woman began, putting the cloth back into her bag. "that's what it means to be human."

Shizune smiled and patted the girl's back. "I'll get you a glass of water."

Shizune went out of the room and left Sakura and Tsunade alone. They stayed together in silence. When Shizune returned again, Sakura took the glass and hesitantly took the small white tablet into her mouth and swallowed. She drank the water and glared at the cup in her hands afterwards.

Tsunade crossed her arms and stared at the frustrated girl. "I'm moving you to another place."

"Why-" Sakura stared up at the woman, an impassive expression on her face. And then she realized, an angry smirk in place on her lips. "Ah, is it because of Sasuke?"

"Partly." She answered bluntly.

Sakura chuckled. Then the chuckles turned into laughter, blown out hysterical laughter. "So then, I can no longer see him anymore? Ah! This was your plan all along?"

"I'm not sure yet. He already knows too much." Tsunade said and leaned against the wall. "If I can find a way to put him to use, then I'll use him, but until then," She glared at the young girl who was glared back at her. "you will listen to everything I tell you to do. If you're good, I might reward you for your obedience."

"Go ahead and throw him away." Sakura laughed, the angry glint in her eyes now gone. "After all, what would I expect from you _Tsunade-sama? _Once you get bored of something, you throw it away. Aren't I right?" She smiled and crossed her legs on the bed. "Fine then, I guess that image was just a hoax."

This caught Tsunade's attention. "What did you see?"

Sakura smiled and looked down at the floor, at the boards, at the wood marks. "A glimmer of the end of this long, drawn out game."

.

.

Three days passed and Sasuke finally got to go back to work. He walked out of his large estate and into his car to work. During his vacation, he had accumulated a small collection of books to bring to her. After all, she loved it when he brought her books.

On his way to her place, he bumped into two unfamiliar woman, a blonde and a black haired woman. The two were carrying black bags for what looked like medical equipment. Maybe they were the one's that took care of Sakura.

He walked passed them but the blonde woman stopped him. She looked at him, then scoffed. "You're the kid?"

He raised a brow. "And I presume you are the one's that took care of her?" He didn't say _Sakura_ for fear of them not actually being the doctors.

The blonde woman raised a brow and stared back at him. Then she smiled and gestured to the elevator. "Please, go see her, Sasuke."

And with that, the two woman left. He stared at their retreating backs and walked to the elevator. When he reached her place, he opened the door and was relieved when he saw her laying down on the floor, a book covering her face. "What are you doing?"

She lifted the book off her face and smiled, a smile so radiant that he had forgotten how bright it actually was. "Sasuke!"

He sat down next to her and dropped the books by her head. She huffed excitedly and flipped onto her belly to flip through the books. "Feeling better?"

She paused and stopped flipping through the pages. "Ah," She began, but then continued to flip through the pages as if nothing was ever wrong. "Un! I just had a cold. I'm fine now though," She got up and pointed to herself. "See? Perfectly O-kay!" She made an 'O' with her fingers and twirled around, the ruffles on her dress spinning.

He scoffed and a smirk tugged at his lips. "Good."

She stopped spinning and stared at the ground, a smile still on her lips. "Do you want to eat anything?"

Her smirked as he saw her twiddling with her fingers. She did that whenever she was really happy. "Are you going to make disgusting food for me?"

"Ah!" She panicked and sat down in front of him. "Is my food disgusting?" He pat her head and said nothing. She pouted and clenched her fists, a frown now on her face. "Fine then, I won't cook for you anymore!"

He inwardly laughed and continued to pat her head in a slow, rhythmic pace. The two just sat there, sitting in silence. A long time passed with the two just sitting there, looking at each other. He stared at her large green orbs, and she stared at his, dark, deep, and mesmerizing. Things were finally back to normal; he was here, sitting with her, quietly, not thinking about anything, not worrying about anything. As if they had no care in the world.

She was the first to move, leaning up slightly to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling herself to him. She moved her knees to either side of his thighs. Surprised, he just sat and watched what she would do next.

But she did nothing, she just stayed like that, holding tightly onto him, her breathing chest moving against his. He looked at the girl attached to him. "Sakura?"

"Sorry," She mumbled into his hair. "I won't invade your space for too long. Just for a little while longer. A little longer..." Her voice trailed off and she started to quiver.

Light sniffling came from her shaking form. She was crying again. "Since when were you such a cry baby." He questioned and stroked the back of her head.

"Sorry. Sorry. Sorry..." She mumbled and held onto him tighter.

That was when he realized what she was going through. He was the only person she could vent her frustration, he sadness, her happiness, her anger, and confusion— all of her emotions. He was the only person whom she really had contact with. Despite being so energetic and happy all the time, this girl was actually an emotionless wreck. She was confused, scared, angry, happy.

This was who Sakura really was. An immature girl, one that cried a lot, and one that loved a lot.

And he hated everything that made her like this.

.

.

Sakura got a call in the middle of the night from Tsunade later that week. Sasuke had let her calm down and approach her problems clearly now. She was no longer blaming herself or Tsunade. There was no one to blame.

_"Good girl." _Tsunade started. She heard her laugh from on the other side of the line. _"Shall I reward you?"_

"I don't want to move Tsunade-sama." Sakura choked out, a tear almost threatening to fall from her eyes. "I like being here, this place that's made me who I am now. I don't want to move."

The woman on the other line was silent, but then a laugh came from her. _"You don't have a choice."_

Sakura bit her lip, so hard that a trail of liquid red flowed down her chin. "_Please._" She pleaded.

_"To praise you for finding a meaning for living, I'll kindly grant a wish to make my dear Sakura happy." _She laughed and Sakura widened her eyes in confusion. _"I'll set up your move in a few days. Look forward to you're new home."_

"Tsuna-" The phone line cut and Sakura slumped to the ground. She held the device in her hands and let the tears from her eyes flow.

.

.

"Aren't you being cruel, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, a tray of tea in her hands.

Shizune placed the cup before the blonde woman and stepped back slightly. Tsunade took a sip and smiled. "I'm rewarding her. How am I being cruel?"

"Why can't she just stay in that condo?" Shizune asked, her eyes fixed on her master. "I don't see the harm in her staying there."

Tsunade leaned back into her chair and stretched her arms, a yawn escaping her lips. "We were careful in looking after her health, but Sakura was still able to get sick. It's not her fault though."

"Pardon?" Shizune asked.

The blonde woman yawned again, her temper starting to build up. "Don't tell me you didn't notice when we visited her... Anyway, even if she is on the 58th floor, the pollution from below still carries up to her condo. The windows are usually open in the summer. Of course, not a lot of pollution actually travels upward, but as time passes, the pollution builds up and the air carries into her condo. Her lungs are already weak as it is. Moving her to a place with less pollution would benefit her, got it?"

"Oh," Shizune laughed and walked into the other room. "Where are you going to move her then?"

"A certain man has a large house in the suburbs of Konoha. I want to move her there."

"An acquaintance of your's, Ma'am?" Shizune questioned.

"No, an acquaintance of Sakura."

Shizune smiled, a hand on her cup. "You act like you like torturing that poor girl, but you actually deeply care for her, don't you?"

The blonde woman laughed and drained the rest of the tea in her cup. "Another cup."

The ebony haired woman smiled and poured her another cup of tea. "But that boy Sasuke, how are you going to get him to agree with your decision?"

"His mother will persuade him for me." She smiled and drained another cup. "He's always been like that— can never go against his mother's wishes. What a good kid, ah, unlike our disobedient brat."

Shizune smiled. "Cut her some slack, she's trying her best to get accustomed to life."

.

.

The next week, Sasuke walked into Sakura's place and noticed a bunch of boxes, probably filled with books. He looked around the expanse and found Sakura sleeping on the floor in the library, a bunch of books still unpacked. He poked her cheek and then tugged at it when she refused to wake up. "Get up, you still have to pack."

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Ah, when did you get here?"

"Just now." He started. He glanced around the mess and started to grab the books. "Hurry up, or we won't even finish by today."

She smiled and got up, grabbing the books and placing them into the boxes. "Sorry, you have to help me pack."

He ruffled her hair and grabbed three of the boxes. "Just finish packing, I'll carry these down."

She nodded and he walked out the door and into the elevator. His mother had called the other day and told him that Sakura was moving. He was to help her pack and drive her to her new home. He wasn't quite sure where yet, but his mother would call again later when she got more details.

Sakura didn't have much luggage. The only luggage she had were books, sure— she had some boxes of clothes, but other than that, there was nothing but books. They were told to keep all of the kitchen supplies and groceries inside in the condo as someone would come and clean it up later. The floor would get renovated and created into a new office room, his office room. Once she left, the floor would be empty, and the memories of their time together there would be locked up forever.

When they finished moving all of the boxes, Sasuke brought her out the room and she was extremely excited. She walked by everyone she passed and said a friendly "Hello!" Her cat laid in her arms as the three of them walked into the parking lot and to his car.

She gawked at his car. "Wow! So this is a car?" She ran around the vehicle and touched the smooth back surface. "I always see them from the condo, but I've never had a clear image of it before. Can I get in?" She turned to look at him, a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"How else are we going to get to your new home?" He smirked and unlocked the door for her to get in. He opened the door for her and she hopped in, and squealed when she sat down on the leather seat.

"It's soft!" She laughed and kicked her feet lightly. "Sasuke-"

He leaned down and propped an arm on the door, looking her straight into the eyes. "Hush."

She zipped her lips and sat quietly. He pulled the seat belt and clicked it into place for her. She "ooo"-ed at the device. He walked around to the driver's seat and got inside. They sat and waited for his mother's call, meanwhile, Sakura started to mess around with the things in his car, which wasn't really much, but to her it was magical.

She pointed to the mirrors in the car. "What are those for?"

"This one," He pointed to the mirror between them, "Is the rear-view mirror. It's so I can back out. And those," He pointed to the mirrors on the outside. "Are also rear-view mirrors. It allows me to see cars from behind me. That's how I switch lanes."

"Ah..." She said and leaned back into her seat. She fiddled with the seat belt and the radio.

Then he got a call from his mother, and he answered it, kind of sad that their time was coming to an end.

_"Ah, Sasuke-kun. Will you drive Sakura to your estate?"_

Sasuke was confused, he scratched his head for a second. "Have they not determined her new home yet?"

His mother was silent for a second before she laughed. _"But dear,"_ She started. _"That_ _**is** __her new home."_

He spun around to look at the girl next to him, still fiddling with her seat belt. "Excuse me?"

_"You're house is in an area with no one else. Sakura's very sickly, so the fresh air there is good for her. Don't tell me you don't want to take her in even though you two are so close now?"_

Sasuke rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. Sakura patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him from a subject which she had no idea about. "A man living with a woman. Are you sure about this?"

_"Why of course! Sakura isn't like those other woman Sasuke. Sakura's so innocent, there's no way she would try and jump you!"_

"I'm talking about it being the other way around, mother." He hissed and tried to calm himself. Sakura continued to look at him with profound confusion.

His mother laughed. _"Since when have I raised such a son with no self resistance? I have perfect faith in my dear son."_

_That's great mother, but I don't think I have enough mental strength to deal with my hormones._ He wanted to tell her, but didn't as he couldn't argue with her.

"What's wrong?" Sakura said, her head tilted in confusion.

He stared at her and put his head on the steering wheel. "Your the problem."

She only wrinkled her eyes brows in confusion and pat his back, stroking it soothingly. He stiffened at her actions and pulled her hand off of his back. She stared back, confusion filling her eyes even more before she tilted her head again. "This is exactly what I'm talking about." He mumbled and sighed, letting her pat his head innocently.

He had no problem with Sakura living with him, but her actions were usually childish and innocent. The things she did had no bad intentions, but from another person's perspective that didn't know about her personality, they'd think she was tempting them.

Because she was just so innocent.

"I'm going to hell." He mumbled and she continued to pat his head.

"Cheer up! I'm sure you'll live life to its fullest before you can sink any deeper!"

"That doesn't make me feel better." He said and turned his head to look at her. She only smiled and lifted up her cat.

"Look," she said pointing to the cat. "he doesn't want you to be so down either. I know you'll miss us, but it'll be okay." She said and smiled.

He sighed and turned on the car's engine. "I won't miss you at all."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You're too cruel Sasuke!"

He closed his eyes and said silently to himself. _"Life is testing my hormones..."_

"Did you say something?" She asked, her hands wrapped around her cat.

"No," He said and smiled to himself. "Nothing at all."

.

.

* * *

><p><em>I hoped you liked it! I might have progressed this chapter a little too quickly, but sorry. My bad. :\<em>

_Your thoughts are very much appreciated! _

_EnigmaLight— 3:51_


	4. Discrete

_I know I have some grammar and spelling mistakes... sorry. _

_And thank you all for your opinions and feedback. It makes me very happy to know that you all like it. ;D_

_Oh, this is a long chapter for my long absence... sorry if it's too long..., but not much happens. It's 9k words by the way. I won't ever write this much in one chapter again, but it seemed awkward to just cut it off in the middle, so I made this chapter long. Plus, I had a lot of time to write. :D_

_It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "...Please, save me."_

* * *

><p><em>Silently Lost<em>

_Discrete_

_._

_._

Sakura talked the whole time. Talking let her ease the silence Sasuke was trying to create. She thought that in doing so, when the time came, she wouldn't be as heart-broken. She didn't want to leave, to leave him, to leave what they had.

To _never_ see him again.

Sasuke's prolonged silence to her attempt to create a conversation bothered her even more. Why wasn't he sad that she was leaving? Was she nothing to him? Did he not care about her? Was all the time they spent together nothing?

At this point, she squeezed her cat to her chest unconsciously in confusion. It wiggled, somewhat surprised. She looked down and rubbed his head, stroking his back. There was no point in pondering over this— After all, he was just one human being. He could be replaced. Yes, replaced.

No, Sasuke could never be replaced; however, she continued to chant in her head that this was for the best. This way, the parting wouldn't be as bad. Yes, that was it. It was her own fault that she was in this predicament; she couldn't blame anyone but herself.

"Sasuke," She started, but received no reply or indication that he had heard, so she continued. "do you even know where my new home is?"

He was silent for a long time before opening his mouth to say, "Yes."

His short answer indicated that she should stop talking, that it was getting on his nerves. So she sat, quietly in her seat with her cat in her arms. She wasn't even in the mood to be excited about being outside. She would rather stay in that small condo for the rest of her life than depart with Sasuke.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the large, tall wooden wall that they were driving next to. It went on forever, never-ending. They reached the gate to the long, prolonged wall and he pulled out a card to scan on what Sakura thought to be a small black box on the wall. He swiped it over the scanner and the gate opened.

And then she was surprised.

The whole area behind the barrier was amazing— no, amazing was an understatement, it was beautiful.

It was as if the gate protected this haven, this paradise.

He drove through and all she could do was stare. Never before had she seen such greenery before. Living in the city for so long, she never thought of ever being able to see such a beautiful wonderland. The grass was cut, but not cut as to look unnatural. It wasn't wild-like but it was at the same time. Trees, large, tall trees stood like guardians as they drove by, their leaves providing shade for the road. As they passed the trees, she glanced up to stare in awe at the sky, so blue and clear, not a cloud in sight. Such a place seemed too good to live in.

And at the middle of the plot of land was a large oriental manor. It looked very traditional and Japanese to Sakura. She got out once Sasuke stopped the car and ran up the large stone steps and over to the large stream at the front of the house. She watched the clean, pristine liquid run around the house and under the steps. She followed it to the back of the house and was surprised to see it lead to a large pond. The large house was a geometrical "U" shape and in the middle of the "U" was the pond. this area looked like a common area for relaxing.

She leaned down to look into the clear water and was delighted when the sight of fish caught her eyes. Her cat pawed at the water, trying to swipe at the unusual creatures that it had never seen before. Sakura laughed and swiped her hand into the water as well, the liquid cool and refreshing on her hands.

The cool wind blew against her face, taking the summer heat away. She tilted her head upwards to look at the large tree covering the pond, its leaves providing them with shade. She smiled and bowed at the overgrown plant. "Thank you very much."

Sakura straightened herself up in a standing position and observed the building itself— The roof was flat but arched at the corners, the shingles also arched, the doors covered in a pale greenish brown color paper. Never before had she seen a sliding door before. She ran over and pulled the two doors away from each other in opposite directions.

The doors lead to a common room; a table in the center, four pillows placed at each side on the floor, bookshelves pressed against one side of the wall, and a tray of tea on the surface of the table. She looked at the floor and was greeted with unfamiliar floor planks. They were a pale brown color with dark, rich brown frames securing each mat. She rubbed her hands on the mats and then walked back outside to the pond.

Sasuke was there to greet her, an eyebrow raised slightly. "Well?"

He was asking her if she liked this place, this place that was going to be her new home, this place that he would not be apart of. She glared at the floor, suppressing the tears threatening to pool at the edges of her eyes. "I," she started, then bit her bottom lip. "hate this place."

"Whether you hate it or not, it's your new home." He said, a tone of hurt in his voice. Sakura looked up to look at him and Sasuke's eyes widened upon seeing her tears. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to live in this place. You're not going to be here anymore..." She trailed off then slumped to the floor with a _thump! _"_I don't want you to leave!_" She cried and rubbed her eyes while trying to suppress her sobs.

She heard Sasuke's footsteps in the grass fade away. Surprised, her whipped her head up to see him nowhere in the vicinity. She panicked and ran to the front of the house and found him unpacking her stuff. She stared and watched him unpack.

After all the luggage had been pulled out of the trunk, he looked up at her, his eyes passive. "How can you leave me if this is _my _house?" Sakura's eyes widened and she stared at him in disbelief. "Now," he pointed to the smaller luggage. "help carry this. It is _your _stuff after all."

"Ah," She ran over and picked up the boxes, then looked back at him. "then we're staying together?"

"Whether I like it or not." He said and swiped his thumb across her teary cheek, catching a stray droplet.

She watched him carry the luggage up the stairs and go through the front doors.

She could stay with him? It was okay? Was this a reward?

"TSUNADE-SAMA, I LOVE YOU!" Sakura yelled and ran into the house with Sasuke. He smacked her on the head for yelling.

They walked side by side, boxes in their arms. "Well?" Sasuke asked again, a smirk tugging slightly at his lips.

She smiled up at him and joyfully replied, "Un. I like my new home."

.

.

Naruto came over later that day. He was ecstatic that she was living with Sasuke, saying things like, "Now I can just accidentally bring Hinata over and it'll be okay! Oh! Why don't we have a party today? You know, to celebrate Sakura coming here? I'll go and invite everyone-"

"No." Sasuke bluntly replied while sipping the tea that Sakura had made. He looked up at the blond from his book and quirked an eyebrow. "You just want to see what Sakura looks like drunk. What a sinful man you are."

Sakura repeated Sasuke's insult. "Sinful man," then giggled and set down a refreshing cup of tea for Naruto as well. "Sorry, if I don't have permission from Sasuke, I can't do it."

"Then just beg him. As a one-in-a-life-time request. _Please?_" Her blond friend bowed before her and smiled. "_Please? Neeee~."_

"No, I don't have permission!" Sakura laughed and sat down on a cushion next to Sasuke. She looked over his shoulder and at the pages of his book. "What are you reading today?"_  
><em>

The man grunted and flipped the book to the front cover, showing Sakura the title of the novel. Sakura scurried off and came back with four books. Naruto groaned in frustration. "WHY AREN'T YOU GUYS ANY FUN? STOP READING AND START LIVING!" The blond rolled around back and forth on the tatami mats, his hands rubbing his head frantically. He got up and bowed before his dark-haired friend. "Please, Sasuke. Just let Sakura have fun— just once! Sakura, you can introduce yourself like this— Hello! I'm Sakura, and I'm Sasuke's girlfriend. He's quite a control freak so-"

The man was hit in the middle of finishing his pleading. Sasuke slammed the edge of his book and hit Naruto in the perfect center line of his head, his hair flattened from the impact. The blond rolled around again, his screams of pain silent.

She laughed and clapped her hands together when she saw Naruto in agony, nursing his bruised head. "You two are awful..." Naruto whispered while his two friends read, ignoring him, the guest. "Ne~ Let's go out-"

Naruto's phone vibrated, and he fumbled with the device to answer the call. He walked out of the room to take the call and Sakura watched him leave. She pulled at Sasuke's sleeve, her eyes somewhat disheartened. "I want to go out."

"Then go out." Sasuke replied, his eyes still fixed on the pages of his book.

She shook her head and pouted. "I want to go _out._"

"Then go." He said again passively.

"_Out!_" She said pointing to a photo that she pulled out from her book. "Here. I want to go here!"

He looked at the photo and saw the green scenery of a park: people were walking, children were playing, dogs were running, ducks were swimming, and planes were soaring. She held the photo close to his face and he pushed it away. "A park?"

"Un!" She grinned. "Let's go look at dogs!"

He went back to reading his book. "Then you can visit Kiba's clinic."

"Kiba? What's that?" She tilted her head and grinned. "Is that the name of a dog?"

He smirked, but continued to read. "I guess you could say that."

"Ne~ let's go to the park! The Park!" She pleaded and rolled around with her cat.

Sasuke glanced down at the brooding girl. "What book did you read."

"Marley and Me." She smiled, then started to tear up. "Ah~! Marley was such a loyal dog... it's not fair that he died..."

He continued to read and ruffled her hair, his eyes still attached to his novel. " It's because everything dies eventually."

She pouted, her cheeks puffed out. "Would you cry for me if I died?"

"Dunno." He smirked, his eyes still on the pages of his book. She huffed and rolled around some more with her cat settled between her slender arms.

She finally stopped her brooding and laid still, her body splayed out defenseless on the tatami mats. Today, her choice of clothing was a cool, pastel blue dress with no sleeves as to cope with the heat; the thin material of the dress made the summer warmth more bearable, the end of it reaching her knees. He had never seen her wear anything but dresses as they were all she had, and every one of them either reached her knees or past. None of them were higher than her slender, delicate knees. It was modest, considering what the woman of Konoha usually wore.

Noticing that he was examining her, she kicked her legs, the thin material of her dress showing more skin than he wanted. "What's wrong?"

"Fix your clothes." He said, and swiftly looked back at his book.

"Is there something on me?" She asked and flipped on her stomach and placed her cat above her head.

"No."

"Ah." She re-flipped her body and laid on her back again, the cat now on her stomach. "It's hot today."

The soft thumps of footsteps caught Sakura's attention, and she turned to look at her blond friend returning to the room. He no longer had his phone in hand. An eerily happy smile radiated from his face, and Sakura was left wondering what had made him so happy. Then she remembered that Naruto did have a so called "mate" or "partner." But she liked the word "mate" better. It was more scientific.

She looked up at him from her position on her back. "What's got you so happy now? Did your mate call?"

Naruto laughed and sat down next to the rosette. "She's not my _mate _but my fiance, and it so happens that she wishes to come over to see you," He looked over at his dark-haired friend still reading his book, ignoring them.

Sasuke said nothing but continued to read, his expression passive as always, as if he wasn't even listening.

"Ah!" Sakura flipped back onto her stomach, but not before moving her cat on her head again. "But we don-" She stopped to look at the man sitting passively beside her, his eyes still fixated in reading his novel.

Sasuke looked down at her and then glanced at the blond man, his eyes narrowing. "What's it about?"

"My fiancée just wants to ask you something, but she wants to do it in person_._" Naruto laughed and looked down at Sakura, who was kicking her legs again. "She wants to ask Sakura something too."

The pink-haired girl's eyes widened as big as buttons. "Me? Why me?"

He smiled and pat the girl's head. "'Cuz, you're interesting."

.

.

Naruto's fiancée came about an hour later, and Sakura was amazed. She was beautiful: porcelain white skin, long, dark purple-hued black hair that was cut neatly just above her slender eyebrows, slender, curvy, petite, and lady-like— not to mention her beautiful pearly white eyes adorned with long eyelashes that contrasted her dark hair wonderfully. Her clothes were quite casual, but even so it made her look classy; a one piece lavender dress with a thin dark purple belt at her waist and white flats. She was the quintessential woman.

"Good afternoon, Sakura-san." She smiled and her beauty made Sakura stare in a daze. Even her voice was beautiful; sweet, soft, and graceful.

Naruto wrapped an arm around the picturesque woman's shoulders. "Sakura, this is Hinata, my fiancée."

Sakura was scared to approach such a beautiful woman, and hid behind Sasuke. "Ah... hello..." Her voice trailed off, her usual hyper personality robbed by this woman's presence.

Sasuke smirked and patted the girl's head. "Don't tell me after all that talk about wanting to talk to other people, you're actually scared to take the chance?"

Sakura looked up at him and gave a worried look, her eyes wide.

"Ah," Hinata waved her small slender hands in protest. "I-I'm not scary at all! Do I really look scary?"

"No!" Sakura protested and stood up to face the other woman. They were surprised at her sudden protest. "I'm actually nervous to talk to someone as stunning as you— I've just never seen someone so beautiful before." She blushed and looked down at the tatami mats, scared to face the other woman.

The four stood in silence, but Hinata broke it by giggling gracefully, her voice resonating across the room like a bell. "You're the second person to tell me that."

"Second?" Sakura looked up and tilted her head. "Then, was Naruto the first?"

"Yes." She smiled, her teeth like glimmering pearls. "To be honest, I-I can't even believe I'm marrying some as great as N-Naruto-kun..." Her face flushed bright red and she cupped her cheeks in her palms.

"Really? I kind of think you're wasted on him." Sakura frowned and looked at the blond. "I mean, he was thinking about ot-"

"AH!" Naruto covered her innocent but deadly truthful mouth before she slipped out his taboo. "Otters! We were thinking about going to the zoo to see some otters!"

Sakura's face brightened up and she jumped up and down, her eyes bright with eagerness. "The zoo? You mean where they keep all the exotic animals? Let's go! Let's go!"

Sasuke pulled on Sakura's wrist and pulled her to sit. She did as he motioned and sat obediently. "No."

Sakura raised her eyebrows in an interest to slide around his command, a playful smile on her lips. "No as in~... no let's go to the zoo instead of the park?"

"No." He said again and continued to read. "What did you want to ask, Hinata."

"Ah!" She smiled and rummaged through her small shoulder bag; it was made of black leather, attached to her body with a long slender strap. The bag reached her hips. Sakura observed the woman as she continued to look for whatever was in her bag. Sakura guessed she found it when the woman made another _Ah! _sound.

In between her slender hands was a white letter. She held it with two hands and formally handed the letter to Sasuke, who got up and accepted it with two hands. The two bowed, and Sakura stared at them. "Why are you two so formal?"

Hinata smiled and put her hands back at her sides when Sasuke took the letter. "It's because it's an important letter." She looked back at Sasuke and bowed deeply. "Naruto and I would like to invite the both of you to our wedding. It takes place on the 5th of this month."

Sasuke looked at the woman with a skeptical gaze. "Why are you inviting Sakura as well? You don't even know her."

"She's a friend of Naruto-kun's." She smiled and looked at the rosette, her smile genuine. "And Naruto-kun said you would leave her home alone if I only invited you. Would you mind me asking why you are keeping her enclosed in your house instead of letting her go out?"

He gave her a passive look. "I'm not allowed to say."

Sakura smiled and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck. "I'm his girlfriend. As you know, Sasuke-kun can be kind of a contro-"

The man in her embrace rebelled against her actions and grabbed his book. It hit her head with a _twack! _"Don't repeat things that stupid idiot said."

She nursed her bruised head and smiled. "It's a joke! Was it not funny?"

"No," Naruto laughed. "It sounded very believable."

"What part?" Sakura asked.

"Everything." Hinata smiled and then bowed again. "Anyway, please come to the wedding next week. Does Sakura-chan have a dress?"

"Lots." Sasuke said and continued to read.

"Come on man, go out and buy her a new one to look pretty at the wedding. Sakura's dresses are too casual. This is a formal wedding." He smiled at Sasuke. "Come on man, for your best friend."

Sasuke was silent for a while before saying, "I'll think about it."

"Ah, then let's go together now." Hinata smiled and looked at Sakura. "I know a good boutique that sells the best dresses."

Sakura perked up and tugged on Sasuke's sleeve. "Let's go, ne?"

.

.

Sasuke drove the four of them to Konoha's shopping square, a place pretty serene as most of the shops were very expensive. Not too many people shopped here, other than the wealthy. The first thing Sakura did when she got out of the car was run towards the fountain at the middle of the plaza. Her footsteps made light thumping sounds against the white and brown ceramic tiles. The middle of the plaza was open to the sky, making it beautiful to look at the evening sky. The walkways with shops around the middle was covered with arches with opening that allowed for some light to shine through. She swished her hands across the placid clear water, the images of coins blurry due to her actions.

The fountain was hard, gray stone. She put her cat on the outer edges of the fountain and sat down next to it, her legs kicking back and forth.

Sakura didn't have shoes, so Sasuke had lent her some woman's sandals, saying they wouldn't care that she was wearing it. Now that she thought about it, Sasuke had looked somewhat disconsolate when he had given them to her, but she didn't have any shoes to wear. She would give them back after using them for the day.

She gazed down at the water, the coins shimmering brightly in the evening light. "Sasuke look! Free money!"

Sasuke smirked and leaned over her, his shadow blocking the light from the sun. "You shouldn't pick those up. They're flesh-eating monsters in the shape of coins. Pick one up and," he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "you _die, your flesh ripped apart._"

She stared at the water in the fountain, her eyes wide with fear. "You're joking... right?"

He straightened himself and smirked at her. "Your curiosity with be the death of you."

She grabbed her cat, whom was strolling around the outer edges of the fountain and ran toward Naruto and Hinata. "I don't want to be here anymore..."

Hinata smiled, somewhat worried that she had believed Sasuke's ridiculous lie. "Don't worry, the shop is quite nearby."

The woman guided the three of them to a somewhat large boutique. Sakura gazed up and noticed the name, "Gild the Lily" written in fancy, curvy letters with flowers dotting the letters. The glass windows displayed beautiful dresses, dresses that held the image of flowers in them. The dresses displayed behind the windows were white mid-thigh dresses what were poofy at the hips down. The two mannequins held a bouquet in their white hands and wore dainty golden sandals.

"Wow." Sakura stared at the dresses in awe. "They look like angels."

Naruto ushered them in and the door closed with the sound of chimes. Sakura looked back and saw a wind chime attached to the door, the slender, hallow metal rods attached to a white piece of wood that looked like the clouds. The sound was pleasant. She looked around the boutique and saw racks upon rack of dresses and shoes. The front held the shoes, the back held the dresses, and the corner on the right shelved accessories. Everything was neatly organized: all of the clothes, shoes, and accessories organized by color, then size.

In the back of the room was a small doorway with another fancy sign saying "Dressing rooms."

Sakura walked around and looked at the clothes. The dresses were fancy, like everything else in this boutique.

She looked at the back of the shop and saw Sasuke and the other two standing at the front desk, probably waiting for someone to help them. She skipped toward them and stood next to the ebony-haired male. She latched her hands behind her back and leaned on the soles of her feet and back on her toes, rocking back and forth.

Hinata rung the bell on the desk and the light _ting! _sound resonated across the room. A few minutes later, a beautiful woman came out from the back room in an apron. Her clothes were somewhat plain compared to the rest of the shop, but it suited the work that she had to do. She wore a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a black apron covering the front of her, and light blue denim capris that hung to her curvy figure. Her feet were adorned with white sandals that showed off her painted toe nails. Her hair was long, silky blonde tied up in a high ponytail with her bangs parted to the left. Her earrings were pink, flowery studs that didn't contrast her clothing too much. It was a good match.

Hinata smiled and waved at the other woman. "Good evening, Ino-chan."

"Ah, Hinata, Naruto," She looked at the dark-haired woman and gave a large, warm smile. "what brings you here? And with Sasuke and—" she stopped to look at Sakura, her eyes wide with surprise. "this pretty woman?"

"We're looking for a dress." Hinata said and gestured to the woman standing beside Sasuke. "For Sakura-chan."

The woman called Ino glanced at Sakura and gave her an analyzing stare. Sakura shifted in discomfort. Then the blonde clapped her hands together and motioned them toward the dresses. She rummaged around and picked out a skinny, black dress that looked far too short. "You'd look nice in this."

Sasuke groaned and looked at the blonde woman. "Are you even trying?"

"I always try." She said indignantly at the man, and put the dress back. "Though it might help if you told me for what occasion."

"Our wedding." Naruto said and looked at the dresses. "I think a nice red dress would look good on her."

Ino shook her head and slapped the blond man on the back. "For the wedding, a red dress attracts too much attention from the bride. She's already pretty as she is, especially with that unique pink hair." The blonde reached over and stroked her pink locks. "I think a beige or another pale color type would go well with her."

Ino picked out another dress and put it against Sakura, to see what it looked like. It was a light green dress that stopped at her mid-thigh. There were no straps to hold it up against her shoulders. In short, a strapless dress that was far too short.

Sakura heard Sasuke sigh. "That looks like a clubbing dress."

"You can wear this at the wedding. It'd look nice with her shoulders so slim and whatnot." Ino smirked at the girl and nudged her. "Do you like it?"

Sakura looked at it and smiled. "Yeah," and she saw Sasuke turn to look at her from the corner of her eye. "but, I think it's too short..."

"Do you not like short dresses?" Ino asked and put the green dress back on the rack.

Sakura nodded. "I don't like feeling too much air on my legs..."

"That's a shame..." Ino smirked and looked for another dress. "You have such nice legs."

They looked around some more and Sakura followed Ino, letting her and Hinata judge to see which dress was the best. Naruto and Sasuke just went to walk around, looking at the dresses passively.

"Honestly, why don't you two help." Ino huffed and put her hands on her hips.

Sasuke quirked a brow and gestured to the clothes around him. "I'm looking."

"Sure you are..." Ino mumbled and went back to dress choosing.

All the dresses that Ino recommended for her were not to her liking. She wanted to avoid wearing dark colors, or vibrant colors. They looked around some more; Ino and Hinata were absorbed in choosing a dress that Sakura was left behind in their aesthetic critiquing.

A tug on her arm made her turn around to face his dark eyes. She looked at him and he placed a dress in front of her. His eyes moved up and down before he smirked in triumph. "There."

He handed her the dress and walked to the front of the store to pick out a pair of shoes. She looked down at the dress that he had given her and walked over to a mirror to try it against her. She was amazed; she really liked it. It was a chocolate-brown dress that ended at her knees, which she liked. The straps were thin and attached to the chest that emphasized the curvy-ness of her chest. It arched over the tops of her chest and arched low on her back, but not showing too much of her back. The waist was narrow to cling to her waist before somewhat flowing out like the bottom of a bell, but not too much flare. The bottom was ruffled and the white lace in the inside hung out at the end. Around the waist was a small bow the same color as the lace. She did want to avoid wearing a dark color, but the rich brown pulled at her. It didn't matter, she wanted this dress. Extremely happy at his attentiveness, she skipped over to him and they both leaned over to look at the shoes. "I don't like covering my feet." She said.

"I know," He said, his eyes focused on the choices in front of him. "but this is a formal occasion. You're going to have to get used to wearing closed-toed shoes."

He picked out a pair of chocolate-brown flats with a white ribbon bow at the toes and handed them to her. She looked at them before pointing to another pair of shoes — brown sandals with two-inch heels. "Sandals?"

"Can you even walk in heels?" He raised a brow and pulled at her cheek. "The weddings in a week. If you want to wear them, I won't stop you. Just know that they'll be a pain to walk in."

"Oh," she smiled and grabbed the shoes. "How hard can it be?"

It was hard. Sasuke had put the shoes on for her to try. He told her to walk back and forth with her knees and back stright. At first, she thought it would be a walk in the park, but sadly, it wasn't. It was hard to walk in them, the skinny heel was not much support and most of her weight was centered at her toes, making her stumble often. She also didn't like that he feet were bent from the high angling heel. After wobbling back to Sasuke, she sat down and kicked her feet. "I don't like them..."

"I thought so." He chuckled and unlatched the shoes from her feet. He handed her the flats again and raised a brow again. "Why don't you try these on."

She did as she was told and was glad when her weight was centered on all parts of her feet. "Un, I like it."

"I would recommend these socks with those shoes." Sakura turned around to see Ino leaning over her shoulder, a pair of thin sheets of material in her hand. "They stop at the shoe line. It's good for the shoes and your feet."

Ino looked down at the rosette and pointed at the dress. "Did you find a dress that you liked?"

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke, a smile erupting on her face and laughed, "Yeah, I did. By the way," Sakura noticed the sign of the shop again and decided to question the weird name. "what does 'Gild the Lily' mean?"

"Ah," Ino stood up straight and smiled. "It's an idiom that mean to decorate something that is already beautiful. The something being women."

"Do you like flowers?" Sakura asked.

"Un, my family owns a flower shop. I like fashion better, so I made this shop, trying to incorporate flowers into it somehow." She smiled and pointed to her dress again. "That's a nice dress though. Where did you find it?"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke again before saying, "In the brown dress section."

"Ah..." Ino responded.

.

.

Sakura had been living with Sasuke for about a week now, and the wedding was approaching near. There were some rules set that she was never supposed to disobey. They were: 1.) never touch anything in Sasuke's room, 2.) never run outside past 8 p.m alone, and 3.) never open the last door in the west wing of the house.

She wondered why the door wasn't supposed to be open. She made a joke earlier, saying that he probably hid dead bodies in there, and Sasuke only smirked at her, making the joke not funny anymore. What if he was warning her about it? What if there were dead bodies in there?

She shivered thinking about it. Sasuke was a kind person, despite being somewhat violent sometimes, he was very calm. She liked that he didn't talk a lot, it gave her time to just sit and relax in the common room with him on weekends, the days that he didn't work. When Sasuke went to work, she was left with a pile of paperwork to file and sort until he came back. She wished that she took longer to sort them because after finishing, she would just sit around doing nothing. It was quite boring.

Around seven, he would come back and they would make dinner together. She offered many times to just cook for them while he rested, but he refused. A man who does not work, does not eat (what Sasuke usually said.)

After dinner, Sakura would turn on the bath for Sasuke and bathe after him. The shower here is different from the one in the condo; it's a soaking bath and not a shower, which she thought wasted a lot of water, but the water was relaxing. She liked it.

After that, she would get ready for bed. Her room was in the east wing while his was in the west. She didn't like how far apart they were, but couldn't complain. On the first day that she moved in, she attempted to sleep in the common room, but he carried her back to her room.

The nights were cool, and she spent the first two hours of the night in bed with her cat, reading and messing around. Sasuke worked in his office or read in his room at night. She would usually never go to see him at night, as he would just tell her to go back to bed.

But today, she walked over to the west wing.

She knocked on the second door on the right and slid it open. He was inside, sitting on his large futon with a book in hand. He looked up when she entered and went back to reading. "Go to sleep."

She shook her head and held her cat close to her chest. "I want to talk."

"What's wrong."

She sat down in front of him, careful not to sit on his futon. "I just don't get to see you a lot..."

"Are you lonely?"

"Un." She rubbed her arms and pet her cat. "Can I go to work with you?"

He half-laughed. "You'd just mess around in the office."

"But I'm so bored!" She exclaimed and hugged her knees to her chest. "I finish the paperwork in an hour or two and am left with nothing to do. _Nothing!_"

It was like she had gone back to being alone in the condo. Sasuke wasn't around much, and she was left to just lay around and sleep. She had run out of books to read. There wasn't anything that made her interested anymore.

"It's not like I can bring the work to the house." He said and flipped a page in his book. "And I can't return early because my secretary isn't as capable as you."

"Thank you for your compliment." She smiled, then thumped a fist upright on her palm. "Then why don't I just go work at your office? You don't even have to pay me!"

"How can I hire you if you have no paperwork?" He looked up at her and closed his book. She flinched, realizing that she was not actually a resident of Konoha. She had no paperwork even proving her existence. His words snapped her out of her daze. "If you want, I'll call Naruto over to keep you company."

"Ah, Naruto's busy with the wedding right?" She asked, tilting her head. "I can't do that."

"Then go outside and pick flowers or something." He said and continued to read again.

They sat in silence for a while. She could hear the crickets singing from outside his window, the wind blowing softly, the chimes ringing. She rubbed her legs from underneath her nightgown and looked up at the man in front of her. He sat there reading, like always, with his eyes intent on the pages.

"Can I sleep with you?" She asked and finally received a face showing emotion.

His face gawked at her, his eyes wider than usual and his mouth opened slightly showing his surprise. He had set his book down to look at her. "...What?"

She looked at him with round, innocent eyes. "Can. I. Sleep. With. You."

"Why...?" He questioned, his tone confused.

"I feel lonely in my room alone..." She said and placed her chin on her knees, her eyes straying away from his. "I don't like how big this place is— and why is it so big? What's the point of having such a big house if only two people live in it?"

"Because it's only really used for formal dinners with my clients." He looked at the girl and pat her head. "If not for that requirement, I would have gotten a smaller house."

She sat in front for a while again, before breaking the silence again. "So... can I?"

"No."

"Why~?" She whined. "I'll sleep on the other side! I won't bother you— I promise!"

She actually saw him consider the thought; he sat and looked down at the front cover of his book, his brows furrowed in thought. He looked up again after a several seconds and looked her straight in the eyes, his black orbs piercing her's. "Okay, but-" He pointed to the side next to him, "if you sleep— that means no talking. And you stay on this side." He pointed to the right side of the futon.

Her face brightened up and she rushed underneath the sheets. Her cat strolled over to her left side and laid down in between them. She saw Sasuke pet the cat and murmur. "Thanks."

He turned off the lamp that was providing them light, and everything went dark. The only light that came in was from the moon, whose light shone through the windows. Sakura turned on the futon and toward the left side, but only to be faced with his back and her cat's rising body. Frowning, she turned around again on her side. But she smiled afterward — after all, he was letting her sleep in the same room as him. That was enough.

.

.

Sasuke woke up the next morning greeted by warmth. The nights were usually cool and pleasant. He would usually wake up shivering from kicking his blanket around, being left with nothing to shield him from the cool night, but last night was warm. It wasn't unpleasant, rather, it was comforting.

He groaned when the morning rays shined through his window. Judging by the light, it was somewhere around seven or eight. He groaned and blinked, trying to dissolve the blurry morning images. The first thing he noticed as he was waking up was something pink.

That was weird. He didn't own anything of that color in the house.

Nothing... except for Sakura.

He snapped his eyes open and looked at the girl wrapped up in his arms, her face burrowed in the warmth of his chest. He admitted that he panicked, but he quickly got over it as she probably had no ill intentions— and partly because he had his arms wrapped around her made him at fault as well...

He could feel her breathing, the deep, calm rising of her chest against his. She was still sleeping, unaware of their positions. He had never really noticed before, but Sakura was actually very attractive. She was unique, everything about her was unique: her hair, her eyes, her personality, her interests. Sure, sometimes she can be quite demanding and annoying, but she is who she is. All of these things made her who she was.

Her lashes were long, beautifully caressing her porcelain cheeks. He brushed a few stray locks of hair away from her face, placing them behind her ear.

He decided to let her sleep longer. Today was Saturday after all, the wedding would be later in the day. It wouldn't hurt to let her rest a little longer. He carefully tried to pry her from himself, but she wrapped her arms tighter around him, rubbing her cheek on his chest.

For a _sickly _person, she was really strong.

A light giggling noise came from her, and he looked down to see if she had woken up; but she was just laughing in her sleep, probably thinking about books.

"...Sasuke..." She mumbled and giggled some more. "...boy...monster... fun... happy..." He could only chuckle and lay there.

"What are you dreaming about?" He murmured and watched her giggling subside.

They stayed like this, in bliss, in silence, in happiness, not knowing what would come.

Not knowing that _everything **dies**_ _**eventually.**_

.

.

Sakura started to get ready for the wedding around four. Sasuke told her to take her time, but she didn't understand why she would take her time. It wouldn't take her long to just put on a dress and shoes— in fact, it would probably only take her five minutes. She waltzed into her room and delicately grabbed the only gift that she had gotten from Sasuke and rushed to put it on. She slipped on the dress and was befuddled when she noticed the zipper in the back.

She turned around and tried to pull the tiny metal piece up the teeth, but with no avail. Was this what Sasuke meant by "Take your time"?

"Can you pull this up?" She turned her back to her cat and crouched down to point at the metal piece. "Just put it in your mouth and pull straight up."

The cat meowed and softly put its teeth on the zipper and pulled up with its head, trying to jerk the zipper up. She had gotten it up half way, but the rest wasn't budging. She didn't want to move because if she did, she thought the zipper would just move slowly back down again.

She reached back as far as she could to pull it up, but it wasn't moving. So, she wrestled with it.

After what seemed like thirty minutes, she heard a knock on the door. "Done?"

"Ah," She looked at her predicament. She didn't want him to see her so useless, not even able to pull a zipper up from on her back. "H-hold on for a second." But he came in anyway and found her on the floor on her stomach with her cat on her back trying to pull up the zipper. She looked up with embarrassment. "I said to wait."

"You took to long," he looked down at her and smirked. "and now I know why. Get up." She did as he told and stood in front of him, a frown on her face. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. "You could've asked me."

"I can do it myself." She huffed and moved away from him.

"No," He chuckled. "you can't, just stay still."

She felt his cold fingers run up her back and pull the zipper up. He turned her back around and looked at her, studying her. "Good."

She dashed over to her closet again and grabbed the shoes that he had bought for her along with the socks. She slipped them on and stood up, a smile of triumph on her face. "Done!"

She left her cat at home and told him to watch after the house, and it just meowed and curled its body up on the wood planks of the common room, bathing itself in the sun.

She sat in the car with Sasuke, her eyes fixed on his clothing. It was the usual suit: black slacks, black blazer, gray dress shirt, and a dark-colored tie. But today, he wore a vest matching the color of his slacks underneath his blazer. The tie today was a dark, rich blue with white and gray stripes slanted northeast.

"You look good today." She commented while he drove. He only grunted a response.

The wedding was in a secluded area outside in a garden. It was really mesmerizing. The garden hedges were cut into shaped of arches, making a walkway to the wedding area. Naruto was there to greet them with a friendly smile. "Thanks for coming today guys."

He motioned them to sit in the front with some familiar faces. She saw the blonde woman at the boutique, Ino and Mikoto-san sitting on the other side of the garden with her husband and another man. Ino sat with a dark-haired man with pale skin. "Ah, I see people I know."

"Wow, you know people." Sasuke smirked and she slapped his arm.

"By the way," Sakura said and whispered into Sasuke's ear. "What exactly happens at a wedding?"

"Two people get married."

"Yes, yes, I know." She frowned. "But, why do you need a huge celebration just to be united as man and woman?"

He looked passively forward, his eyes emotionless. "Who knows."

She flinched. Sasuke was usually emotionless, but never his eyes. His eyes always showed emotions, even if he thought they didn't. Now that she thought about it, did Sasuke even have a mate? Mikoto-san did say he stopped playing the piano after someone important left. Was it his mate? A woman?

She tugged on his sleeve and he looked at her. "Do you have a mate as well?"

He only stared at her, his eyes no longer emotionless. "_A mate?_"

She was scared to nod her head. He responded more harshly than she expected. As she had thought, maybe it was a woman. "Yes."

"Don't joke." He turned away and looked at the altar where Naruto was standing. "Not everyone is cut out to be married."

"Are you saying that about you? Or someone else?" She asked, her voice quiet.

He didn't answer.

Sakura understood and stopped pressing the matter. If he didn't want to talk about it, she would comply. She looked back at him and paused when bells started ringing. She looked behind herself and saw the bride come in.

Hinata was beautiful, even more so now than ever before. The white dress contrasted her dark hair that was covered by a white veil. The dress ruffled down like a winding staircase starting from the top of her breasts to the ground. Her hair was pinned up, her bangs left alone while two braided strands wrapped around the high bun atop her head. Attached to the bun was a small hairpin, even though small, it stood out.

In front of her was a younger woman who looked much like Hinata. She threw out flowers occasionally as she walked by. Sakura was hit by one by accident.

She looked up at the groom at the groom and found him smiling like an idiot. She almost snickered in the middle of the ceremony. Naruto held her hand as Hinata walked up and they walked toward a man wearing a black suit and a small white square in the middle of his collar.

The two took turns to put rings on each other's ring finger, and then the man began to say words that she didn't understand. She sat there confused, watching the man chant his incantations from a book.

"Do you, Naruto Uzumaki, take Hinata Hyuuga to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The man turned to look at Naruto and he answered with a "yes." Then he turned to Hinata and said the same thing, but switching the names and the position of marriage. " And do you, Hinata Hyuuga, take Naruto Uzumaki to be your lawfully wedded husband?" She also answered with a yes and then the man said, "You may now kiss the bride."

Naruto leaned down and put his face to Hinata's. Sakura blinked while everyone else clapped for their exchange of saliva. Perplexed, she was late for the clapping.

.

.

After the ceremony was apparently a party. Everyone sat around a large white table while the bride and groom cut the triple tiered cake. She was utterly confused as to why they would clap just because Naruto and Hinata cut a cake. She cut cakes all the time. Nobody ever clapped for her when she did, so what was the difference?

"I would like for Sasuke," Naruto spoke and gestured to his dark-haired friend. "to give some words."

Sasuke stood up and crumpled what looked like to her a piece of paper into his pocket. "I've known the two of you, Naruto, Hinata, since we were kids. The three of us grew up together: going to elementary school, junior high, high school, and then college. I hate to admit it, but the two of you were the only few good friends that I actually had. Congratulations in your marriage, and I hope you two are bestowed with happiness."

His words were very precise and straight to the point. She had never heard him speak in such a way before, outwardly caring about someone before.

He sat back down and she clapped for him, along with everyone else.

She could feel several people eyeing her and she looked back at them, giving them a big smile. they only turned away from what she thought was embarrassment.

After eating, everyone stood up when music started to play in the background of the garden. She looked in every direction and found a band of orchestra players playing music on their string and brass instruments. She loved music; it was heartwarming and relaxing. She could relax and forget with music.

Sasuke was sitting at the table with her and several other people. They all chatted nonchalantly while she sat in awkwardness. Hinata and Naruto were dancing, Ino and her dark-haired mate were also dancing, and Mikoto and Fugaku sat on the other side with what looked like the Hyuuga family.

She watched the women dancing, their dresses flowing as they and their partner glided across the floor. They looked like birds, trying to attract attention from up above; if a plane flew by, they'd probably see them dancing.

Watching them dance brought back many memories of her past. She was born in an institute that took care of sick children, children sick beyond being cured. It was a place for them to be happy before they eventually passed away. It was a happy place for children to forget the inevitable end, a place without sadness, a place without fear.

It was not such a place for her though. She always envied the children who could take part in the parties and events hosted by the institute, as she could not enjoy such a luxury. The children could mingle and make friends, play games, talk, laugh, fight. She wasn't allowed to do any of that. None of it. _Nothing_.

Tsunade would always give her a roundabout explanation when she asked why she couldn't participate. Out of pity, the hazel eyed woman would occasionally return with cake and desserts for her. Honestly, even if she ate cake with Sasuke all the time at home, she hated it. It always left a bad taste in her mouth, no matter how good of cake it was.

But times changed. She frowned at her ironic situation. Here she was, finally able to experience something she had never experienced before, yet she was too much of a coward to do anything but stick to Sasuke like a baby chick following its mother. _Pathetic_.

Sakura watched the happy people, the people partying without a care in the world. "_Ignorance is bliss..._" She muttered and frowned even harder.

She stood up and walked away from the noise, from the ignorant people, from the people she envied, from Sasuke.

For the rest of the party, she sat outside of the garden on the stairs, tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't even know why she was crying. Was it because she finally realized their separate worlds, that she could never be apart of such a world? Was her meeting Sasuke a sign of her greed, her greed for interaction?

Yeah, that was it. A world of happiness was not for her, she could never have happiness.

Because she was Sakura.

She already knew what she had to do.

.

.

Sasuke couldn't find Sakura anywhere. He had even told her earlier not to leave his side, but she had disobeyed. He would give it to her later. He started asking around for his pink-haired acquaintance.

"No, I haven't seen a pink haired woman."

"Was a person even invited to the wedding?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen a foreigner with pink hair."

He looked around some more and walked around the garden looking for her.

**_Sakura wasn't here._**

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><p><em>Doooooooone! Good job for being able to finish such a long chapter! :D <em>

_Please leave a review about what you thought. That would be much appreciated! _

_EnigmaLight— 10:27_


	5. Agony

_Sorry, late update! I promise to write when I have time! I want to switch between Silently Lost and The Prelude into One's Heart. They're both so much fun to write. _

_Summary: It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "...Please, save me."_

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><p><em>Silently Lost <em>

_Agony_

_._

_._

She wasn't here, nowhere near him, gone, far away... And it frightened him. He ran, running around looking everywhere for her. Soon, he found himself sprinting, sprinting to find this troublesome girl, this annoying woman, that lonely girl.

He didn't even bother asking people anymore, all he wanted was to find her.

Naruto finally snapped him out of his frantic craze, "Hey, what's wrong?"

He panted, trying to find the right words. "Sakura,"

"Sakura? What about her?"

"...gone."

Soon, another person had joined his frantic hunt, and the two of them split up to sprint around the garden looking for her.

And the garden was quite large. If it weren't for Sakura's disappearance, he probably would have never noticed— not that he was glad that he did.

At the very end of the garden was a large fountain, so large that it took up most of the space in the area that it was in. He could hear the water against each other, the sound calming. In the night, the water glimmered, the moon's light dancing and reflecting off the crystal clear droplets. The sight radiated with beauty. If Sakura had wandered around, this was probably the first and only place she would be at. She would probably dance around the well, singing or laughing in joy.

And she was; however, she didn't sing or laugh, she just sat in silence, staring up at the moon. A wave of relief passed by him at the sight of her relaxing on the bench.

She looked beautiful today, her hair shimmering in the moon's rays, her eyes glimmering from the water's reflection, her dress ruffled at where she sat, and her long slender legs gracefully kicking back and forth.

Noticing him, she turned her alluring jade eyes toward him, her eyebrows high, as if questioning him. "Sasuke?"

He took the liberty to walk over and sit next to her, still somewhat trying to catch his breath from running and her herself. "Why didn't you tell me that you left."

"Ah," She sighed and looked up at the moon again and watched the dark clouds shuffle by, "the moon was just so beautiful, I couldn't help myself." She smiled, a faint and somewhat cynical smile, a smile that he had never seen before. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

His hand landed on her head with a feathery drop. "Want to talk?"

"What's there to _talk_ about?" The cynical smile stayed there on her lips. She chuckled and replaced the cynical-ness with a more naive and sincere smile. "By the way, you're speech was very compelling. Very much like you."

"What do you mean?" He questioned, his eyes darting over to meet her's.

"Hmm..." she tapped her chin, her brows furrowed. "very simple and straight to the point, but behind those simple words is a deeper feeling. Very secretive."

He was surprised at her analysis. "Then I guess we're the same."

"Huh?"

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "Let's go home."

"Un." Her smile's brightness countered the moon's light.

.

.

She could remember his gaze on her, his eyes watching her, examining her, observing her like she was an _animal. _She would wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares of her past. This hadn't happened since she met Sasuke, and she was terrified. She remembered the pain of the knives, the sound of crying, screaming, begging, all for help. But didn't come for them. She remembered the cold concrete floor, the chilly nights, the unsanitary conditions, and the scent of metal.

She could remember everyone's pleading, crying, shrieking. It was driving her insane, mad with fear— so much that she didn't sleep at night. Being alone only enhanced the experience, the true horror. She would sit in a space between her dresser and her table, huddled up with her arms wrapped around her knees. Why did she remember? Why? _Why? **Why?**_**  
><span>**

She didn't eat meat for a long time. She stuck to vegetables, but she could tell Sasuke was getting worried. So for one day, she sucked up her fears and cleaned a fish for dinner, but not without stopping every once in a while to get away from the feeling of cutting the poor creature.

She wanted to forget, to lose the memory of those years, but she was damned to carry the burden. Everyone's experiences were her's to shoulder.

_I want to forget. I want to forget. I want to forget. **I want to forget. Forget. Forget. Forget. This is nothing more than a dream, a fake feeling. Nothing is real. **__**I. Am. Okay.**_

She would chant this every night while sitting her her corner, trying to cry herself to sleep, but the scenes of the children's agony and torment never faded. It was forever engraved into her mind.

She could feel Sasuke watching her and it made her uncomfortable; it reminded her of that man, that sick, twisted, hell-spawn of a human that was nothing like Sasuke. It was sickening that she was even comparing the two, but she didn't like the way he looked at her. It made her feel like he was observing her, like that man.

"Stop it."

"Huh?"

"Staring isn't polite."

"Are you okay?" He set the book he was reading down and continued to observe her. "You always seem to be in a daze."

She tried to smile, to reassure him that she was perfectly fine. "Wouldn't you be the one in a daze? With all the work you have, aren't you exhausted?"

He went back to reading his book. "There's not as much when you help out."

"Ah, is that so?"

She would always end off their conversation and wander off into the garden in the back of the house, sitting in the shade of the large tree watching clouds pass by. The daytime sky soothed her torment; its blue color refreshing, healing, soothing.

Sakura had been taking her pills diligently, wanting to get better, believing in the people trying to help her. But a day came when the pills stopped working. She had foretold the event, letting the cynical feeling of hate and distrust tug at her chest. Not wanting Tsunade to come and find out that she wasn't taking her pills, she would go out everyday to drop two pills in a stash that she made at the far end behind the tree. This way, she could count how many pills she had left before giving the prescription bottle back to Tsunade.

When Sasuke was at work, Tsunade would come and check on her to see if her condition worsened. She came by today, with her black bag and her white lab coat.

"How have you been feeling?" The hazel eyed woman would ask, her eyes fixed of check on Sakura.

Sakura hated the examinations, more than she had before. She felt that there were less things in the world to entertain her now. She could feel the cynical, sarcastic feeling overtake her. "Can't you tell by looking?"

"Snarky brat." Muttered the blonde woman.

Sakura took the small yellow bottle out from her pockets and showed it to the woman. "I finished the pills. Compliment me."

Tsunade would sigh and pat the girl's head. "Good girl."

They stayed like that for a while, the blonde woman stroking her head in silence. She could tell that the woman wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words to word it correctly. "What?"

"We," she started, then took a seat on the pillow in front of her. "think we might have a diagnosis for you."

"Enlighten me."

"Pulmonary edema, maybe."

"Maybe?"

She looked at the younger woman, a serious glint in her eyes. "I can only determine this if you've had an accident before, maybe you got into an accident and were injured. Trauma. I don't have your past medical records, so please answer honestly. If we act quickly enough we could save your life."

Sakura looked back at the woman and smiled. "I've never been in an accident before."

"Not even gotten hurt? Your heart, your lungs...?" Her voice seemed to trail off.

"Not once." Sakura replied, continually smiling.

The blonde woman sighed and pat the girl's head again. "Don't worry, we'll find a cure."

She could smile because she knew she wasn't sick, she didn't have a disease or illness. No matter how hard they tried, they would find nothing.

Because she was okay. Sakura was okay.

.

.

_The children huddled into the back corner of the cell, their hands holding another's hand. They whimpered, tears streaming down their cheeks. They wore rags, clothes barely covering them. The time when the men went out were pure bless, but of course, they didn't go out much. She huddled the children's heads, bonking their's on her's as a sign of care. "Don't worry, we'll leave someday. I promise."_

_"But I'm scared... the stuff they give us makes me hurt all over... Nee-chan, it hurts!"_

_"It hurts!"_

_"Hurts!"_

_They all busted out wailing; their cries echoing in the cell. Seeing them cry made her want to cry too. Who was she to kid herself? There was no way they could get out. They were weak— the men were strong, not to mention the weapons they had. There was no escaping this hell hole, but she had to stay strong for the children smaller than herself. _

_"Stop it!" She ushered, trying to stop the children's wailing. "We'll get out! So stop it!" Tears started to rim the edges of her eyes, so much that things became blurry. But she can't cry, not now. These children needed her._

_They heard the slam of the door, and two men walked back into their hell. She gathered the children behind herself, trying to hide them from the next test. _

_That man walked by, his long dark hair swishing as he walked. Sakura hated his guts, he was an abomination, a tyrant. _

_He laughed upon seeing the children huddled in the cell. "Well... it looks like the population has dwindled..."_

_"You're disgusting." She spat, glaring at the man. _

_He laughed again, this time the chuckle deeper, filled with more madness. "I'm glad so many of you survived the last experiment. Sorry, it was a failure. Don't worry, the next one will work, I promise." He looked at the boy behind her and pointed at him. "You're first, Number 53._

_The boy whimpered, hiding behind her. She was trembling as well, she didn't want to be the first to feel pain, but he was so much younger than her. She walked forward and glared. "I'll take his place."_

_The man smiled and reached out a hand to stroke her hair. "Of course, Number 13. Aren't you noble, protecting the ones younger than you." He crouched low and smiled, one hand on the bars and the other caressing her cheek. "You know, you were always my favorite, Number 13. Out of all the test subjects that were brought here, you've lived the longest. Such an obedient girl."_

_She continued to glare at the man. "If they're such failures, then let them go."_

_"Ah, indeed, how noble." He laughed and pat her head. "But I can't just let you go. You'd die outside."_

_He opened the cell and pulled her out. She didn't protest, it was to help the children, her friends. _

_"Nee-chan..." They whimpered. _

_She looked behind and smiled. "It's okay, I'll be fine."_

_He strapped her down to the table and took out the necessary tools to experiment on her. The blinding white light above her blurred her vision, making everything twisted. She could faintly see the forms of him and his assistant. She saw the glint of the scalpel and began to panic. "Ah, don't worry, we're not using that today."_

_She stared at the man, wondering what he had in store for her. His assistant took out a needle and cleaned the device that was to enter into her. The vile liquid's scarlet glint caught her attention; she began to whimpering, letting the fear overtake her senses. His assistant spoke, his gray eyes shimmering with excitement. She began breathing irregularly. "Don't freak out, it'll only hurt a bit. This will work, definitely."_

_He pushed the needle into her arm, the vile liquid pouring into her body. It was hot, so hot that she thought she had caught fire. For a while, she had no reaction other than the heat engulfing her, then it hit her. Excruciating pain flooded her entire being, she screamed, convulsing in agony. She struggled to breathe, like being drowned thousands of miles underwater. Tears flooded from her eyes; the pain was too much, even if she had done this many times, the pain never got any better. It got worse with each second, her nerves taut with torment. _

_She ran out of breathe to scream; the only noise was the sound of her nails on the metal table, her mouth gasping for air, and her body struggling to be released from the leather straps. _

_She began coughing up fluid. She wasn't aware of anything going on, the pain was so immense that she was barely conscious. _

_It was hot, so hot, so hot that she felt she was going insane, like her mind was melting._

_"She's overheating." _

_"...Ice."_

_"...yes...fa...il...ure...?"_

_The voices were fading, felt like she was departing from reality, from life._

_Good, that would be better than this, experiencing pain every day._

_"...n...o..."_

_She blacked out, everything turning blurry. _

_She was glad. This would end her suffering. _

_The next time she awoke, she was in the cell with the other children, with an ice pack on her head. The children also had ice packs on their heads. She brightened up in relief and struggled to lift herself up. She extended her hand to prodded the little boy next to her. "We did it!"_

_He didn't budge. She thought that maybe he was still unconscious, but all of the children were just laying there. And then she saw the scarlet liquid staining her hands and the feeling of horror entangled its sick vines around her. _

_She nudged the girl on her left. "Hey, wake up."_

_Then another, and another, and another. "Hey, get up!"_

_The only sound in the vicinity was her pleading echos and the slick oozing of thick scarlet blood. "GET UP!"_

_"Ah," She whirled around to face the devil himself, a smile upon his face. "looks like I was right. You are my favorite. Don't you just look beautiful painted red."_

_She stared at her hands in horror, the liquid dripping from her fingertips, down to the already painted floor._

**_They were dead._**

Sakura woke up in cold sweat, her eyes wide and her mouth panting for air. She stared at her hands to see no red. A flood of relief hit her, it was a nightmare, just a dream. She felt a nudge and found her cat headbutting her side; lifting up a hand, she petted the small animal. She tried to regulate her breathing as it was all haphazard and chaotic. Fisting her sheets, the girl ducked underneath and screamed into her pillows, muffling the noise.

The pain began to return, she could feel her body begin to reject itself again. It was as if her body was folding inside out, but she endured it for Sasuke. She didn't want to burden him. He had already shown her the world, let alone taken her in. There was no way for her to repay him, so she wouldn't bother him with her problems.

She didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

.

.

Sasuke found Sakura to be quite strange nowadays; she rarely talked, rarely ate, and rarely smiled. She didn't even want to read. She seldom left her room, only leaving for water or for dinner; they didn't even talk during their meal. He thought that maybe she was sick again, trying to hide her condition from him again, so he asked her.

He stood in front of her room, not sure how to enter. A knock would suffice, and he tapped on the sliding door two times.

No answer.

He tapped again. _T__ok, tok._

Still no answer. So he opened the door, and she was still laying in her futon, her body curled up beneath the thick sheets. "Hey."

The rustling of sheets let him know that she was indeed awake. She twisted from beneath and surmised that she had turned her back toward him. "Mn..."

It was four in the afternoon. Sakura never slept in late. She was always the first person up, usually barging into his room and nagging at him to wake up, so it surprised him to see her being so lazy.

He realized that maybe he was doing something wrong. While it is true that the two of them have been together now for quite a while, they (mostly Sasuke) had never taken the time to get to know each other. It wasn't like he wanted to, but maybe Sakura wished it.

He slowly strolled over to her rest place and sat down on the tatami mats next to her futon, his legs stretched out in front of him, his back to her. They didn't speak, not a sound was heard except for the occasional muffled mumbles from the woman beneath her sheets.

"Talk." He commanded.

He heard more rustling and looked over from the corner of his eye to see her sit up in her bed, her hair a mess. Her head faced the other direction, her hair shielding her face from his view. She said nothing, only sat there quietly. Sasuke was an impatient person, but this time, he felt no rush in forcing her to speak. If something was wrong, she would tell him in time.

Her cat strolled over and sat in the woman's lap, curled up in a ball with its tail draped over the bridge in its nose.

He noticed her slender form quivering, her hands fisting the sheets, and her breathing somewhat irregular. She was struggling to make out words to speak.

"Talk? What about?" She answered in time.

He knew it; she was hiding something, and it pissed him off. His patience wore away after realizing. In a swift and timely motion, he had her pinned on the futon, her physique and strength no match for his. Using both of his hands, he fastened her hands on either side of her head, her hair still covering his view. She struggled, her breathing become more and more haphazard. "_No_!" She protested, her voice a shrill shriek.

He tightened his grip on her and positioned his knees to block her lower body movement. A frown made its way to his face, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. She had sunken to his level; she was running away from reality, something he had never wanted her to do, never to follow him. Sakura was better than him, she couldn't be put on the same level as him, not now, not ever.

"Don't run away!" He voiced. She shook her head, her hair still blocking her face, her eyes. "If something is wrong—"

"_Shut up!_" Her sudden protest startled him. Her breathing heavy now, her pants even more arbitrary than before. "What do you know? Huh? I didn't want to be like this! WHY AM I AT FAULT?"

She looked him straight in the eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. In his moment of surprise, she ripped away from his grasp and escaped outside somewhere.

"Sakura!" His footsteps followed her's, his eyes watching her figure frantically try to escape. "Don't run away!"

She ran a few more meters before collapsing down on her knees, her form shivering and quivering. Letting her emotions rip out of her, she leaned back and screamed at the top of her lungs. The anguished tint in her shrill cry was heartbreaking; he ran and held her in his embrace, swiftly moving his limbs to safely secure her in his grasp.

"_I don't want this anymore! I don't! No! NO! **NO!**"_ She resisted his embrace, her arms hitting and smashing against his shoulders and limbs, but he persisted forward. "_I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THIS ANYMORE!"_

"Be like what?" He growled, his voice whispered into her ear. "A _coward_?"

She stilled in his arms, her body limp and sullen. The most abysmal eyes he had ever seen laid their gaze upon his. "Yes."

"The weight is not just your's to shoulder." He murmured into her hair, stroking her back.

"But it is."

"Tell me what's bothering you."

"... I'm sorry. This won't ever happen again." She sniffled.

"It will if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"It won't."

He pushed her away and stared into her adamant eyes. There they were, the same strange cynical tainted green looking straight at him. "Let me tell you a story, Sasuke."

The mention of literature brought relief to his chest. "Go right ahead."

She stayed in his arms, her head rested on his shoulder and his head on her's. "It's about a girl by the name Number 53 who lived an agonizingly long and desolate life." She paused before continuing, her body beginning to quiver again.

**_"It's called Silently Lost._****_"_**

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><p><em>Sorry, I guess that was kind of like a cliff-hanger...<em>

_I feel that Sakura was very whiny in this chapter... I'm so sorry... I feel so sad after writing this though... Ahhhh D;_

_Please tell this sad writer what you think. Thanks again!_

_EnigmaLight—10:12_


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